Ukraine Is Personal For Sean McVay

He reveals his fiance has family in war-torn Ukraine

The last two weeks have most likely been a whirlwind for Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay since his team won the Super Bowl with a 23–20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals

He has probably replayed key plays in his mind like Cooper Krupp’s seven-yard gain on fourth down and one in the Rams’ 30-yard line in the fourth quarter on their game-clinching drive.

But McVay has another subject on his mind lately. He opened a press conference Wednesday by sharing his fiance, Veronika Khomyn, is from Ukraine and much of her family lives in the war-torn country.

That puts winning the Super Bowl in a different perspective, and it makes the war with Russia in Ukraine more personal for the Rams’ head coach.

More than a million Ukrainians have fled their home for safety, and another million more are estimated to be displaced as Russia has targeted civilians.

Russia has bombed key cities in Ukraine, destroying government buildings and targeting residential areas in an effort to force citizens to flee or to beg their government to surrender, according to a story in the New York Times.

“This obviously hits home with me,” McVay said. “Just watching the grace at which she’s handled this, how strong her family’s been in the midst of this. I’m just so proud to be associated with that culture.”

Khomyn’s reaction

Khomyn shared her reaction on Instagram on February 24, the day Russian troops invaded Ukraine, in an emotional post:

“Today has been the hardest day I’ve ever experienced. I don’t know what to feel at this point … but it is anger, sadness, I feel disappointment in the rest of the world, and more than anything I feel guilty for not being able to be there for my family during this time.” — Veronika Khomyn

Ukraine has powerful allies such as the United States and Western Europe, but those allies have chosen to issue sanctions against Russian instead of sending troops to support Ukraine in fear of starting a larger nuclear war with Russia.

Khomyn described how her family woke up in the middle of the night to emergency sirens, missile explosions, and military aircraft flying overhead. They learned the next morning the city’s airport was bombed and destroyed.

School was canceled for her brother, and according to a UNICEF report, more than 350,000 school-age children have been without access to education. Her dad was unable to go to work the next day or to the bank to take money out.

She said her stepmom, a nurse at a local city hospital, was preparing to treat wounded soldiers. As Ukrainians began to flee the country, Khomyn said on February 24 that her family decided to stay because Ukraine is their home.

“My family is not fleeing Ukraine because it is their home. Nor should they have to leave their homeland, their parents, brothers and sisters, just to be safe and have a better life.” — Veronika Khomyn

Since her post, the situation has grown bleaker in Ukraine. The deputy mayor of Mariupol told CNN, “We cannot collect all the bodies,” and Russian troops were blocking food supply from entering the city and electricity has gone out.

“They are destroying our city from airplane bombing, from tactical rockets, from multiple launch rocket systems,” mayor Sergei Orlov said. “We do not have electricity, water supplies, sanitary systems, we do not have heat.”

Liv, the largest city in Western Ukraine, is overwhelmed with people carrying their suitcases, leaving homes to flee from the war, the Times’ story reported.

The future of Ukraine

Khomyn went on to say in her post that “this is more than Russia invading our beautiful and independent Ukraine. This is a look into our tomorrow, into the world our children will grow up in, and a look into the future of democracy.”

She closed her post by urging people to support Ukraine in any way possible:

“Use your platform to speak up and stand up for Ukraine. If you know somebody who lives in Ukraine, check on them. Donate to the Ukrainian army and humanitarian aid.”

Khomyn said in her post she plans to help her country however she can. She gave out her email ([email protected]) on Instagram for people to reach out and contact her if they would like to support Ukraine.

Ukraine Ram fans

McVay said in a story this week in the Riverside Press-Enterprise that Khomyn’s family watches Rams’ games during the middle of the night.

Amazingly, since the war started a week and a half ago, McVay said the family has wanted to talk about the Super Bowl in the midst of the casualties of war.

“They want to talk about us winning the Super Bowl, and they’re in the midst of all these things going on,” McVay said in the story about his future in-laws. “They’re an incredible, graceful example of what you want your family to be.”

Thanks for reading my story.

Tagging my sports friends: Michael L Butler, Sreese, Gerald Sturgill, MarkfromBoston 🐾🍻, Deborah Camp, Frank Priegue, Mike Lewis, Craig Stanland, Harold Zeitung, Scott Younkin, Don Sabado, Jane Kelley, Andy Spears, Lu Skerdoo, Victoria Valentine, Lisa's Desk Chat, Kennardo James, J.R. Spiers, Lee Bidoski, Hayden Moore, Jan Sebastian, J.K.Hammond, Amanda Payne, Bryn Del Mano, Yana Bostongirl, Ning Choi, Paul Combs, Sean Cordes, Sahil Patel, John Ross, Janice Harayda, Susan Wheelock, Vishal Mehta, Araci Almeida, Anthony Dale, Bernie Pullen, Patrick OConnell

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