Obit of the Day

Obit of the Day: Former NFL All-Pro Junior Seau

According to TMZ.com, Junior Seau former linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots was found dead in his home. The police had responded to call of shot fired at the home. He was found to have committed suicide.

Seau, a six-time 1st team All-Pro and eleven-time Pro Bowler, was the 5th pick in the 1990 NFL draft. A star at the University of Southern California, Seau dominated in the early 1990s. He was named UPI and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and was the AFC Player of the year in 1994. When the NFL announced it’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s, Seau was listed as a starting linebacker.

Although he appeared in two Super Bowls, XXIX with the Chargers and XLII with the Patriots, his teams lost both games.

In 1992, Seau also founded the Junior Seau Foundation, “with the mission to educate and empower young people through the support of child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, recreational opportunities, anti-juvenile delinquency efforts and complimentary educational programs.”

Seau was only 43 years old and leaves behind three children.

Additional sources: football-reference.com, wikipedia.com

(Image courtesy of Chargers.com)

Ed. Note: According to sources, Seau shot himself in the chest. Former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson did the exact same thing, in order to preserve his brain for study. Although no one has connected the two deaths (as well as the April suicide of Ray Easterling), OOTD is interested to see whether Seau suffered from neurological problems. Something to watch.

Apparently former Bears’ linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer has some of the same questions about Seau’s suicide. Hillenmeyer was forced to retire from the game after suffering numerous concussions. (He was advised to leave the NFL by the Bears’ neurologist.) Here is the Hillenmeyer interview from the Chicago Tribune.