The Contender Reacts to Tragedy

The men behind The Contender are speaking out about Najai "Nitro" Turpin, the 23-year-old Philadelphian contestant who committed suicide on Feb. 14. Although NBC's boxing reality series will premiere March 7 as scheduled, the show goes on with a heavy heart.

"It's obviously been an awful week that went from disbelief to numbness, and now to the realization that Najai is actually gone," says executive producer Mark Burnett. "I totally enjoyed my time with him. It's cast a huge cloud over our company. All the girls referred to him as a teddy bear.

"I'm not sleeping that much thinking about it because I'm sad for him and his family," Burnett goes on to add. "I've been through this because of my background in Special Forces, seeing close friends killed. Najai wouldn't sleep in the bed on The Contender because he was so used to sleeping under the bed or in the closet for fear of various things [like] bullets, burglars, robbers and home invasions. This show was about giving an opportunity to these underprivileged young men to advance their chance in the sport they chose as their profession."

While we now know that Turpin was eliminated early in the contest, host Sylvester Stallone feels the boxer might've had a bright future if he'd lived. "I loved this man. I loved what he stood for," Stallone says. "He was the epitome of what you would hope an athlete would be. He was incredibly brave. When he was with his child, you would see the child in him come out. The last words I spoke to him [were] that he represented the heart and soul of what this show is about."

"Boxing's been my life for over 30 years," says cohost Sugar Ray Leonard. "I can really relate to these boxers and their struggles... I had a chance to meet Najai about six months ago, and I found him to be very soft-spoken, very reserved. He reminded me a great deal of myself. But in that ring, he was so full of confidence and determination and he was so proud to be on The Contender, [which] was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He will be deeply missed."