Barrett Emke for The New York Times
TOPEKA, Kan. — It was 2 a.m., but Navarro Simmons’s mobile phone kept ringing and Corey Ballentine’s name kept flashing across the screen. Simmons was pretty sure what it was about, so he ignored the calls, at first.
Several hours earlier Simmons had called to congratulate Ballentine, who had just been selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the N.F.L. draft. Simmons had also called his son Dwane, knowing that Dwane was with Ballentine and would be just as excited about the big news. He assumed they were just getting back to him.