Former Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam's death ruled a suicide

[bluedigger]

Rashaan Salaam, whose body was found in Boulder, Colorado, on Dec. 5, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, the coroner's office reported Thursday.

The Boulder County Coroner's Office reported that the autopsy showed the cause of Salaam's death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Salaam, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1994, was 42. He was picked in the first round of the 1995 draft, 21st overall, by the Chicago Bears.

His body was found in a parking lot at Eben G. Fine Park, which is less than 2 miles from Folsom Field, where Salaam starred as a running back for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18370902/autopsy-shows-former-chicago-bears-colorado-buffaloes-rb-rashaan-salaam-shot-head

Another probable CTE victim.

[douglas9]

1. Clues in Rashaan Salaam death point to heavy burden

>snip

Trail of despair

Of the eight top vote-getters for the 1994 Heisman Trophy, three are dead.

Former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips finished eighth that year and died in January after hanging himself in jail at age 40. Third-place finisher Steve McNair, a former quarterback for Alcorn State, died in 2009 at age 36, victim of a murder-suicide in which his girlfriend fatally shot McNair before killing herself.

This eerie trail of despair also extends to the NFL, where Salaam played for the Chicago Bears and took handoffs as a rookie in 1995 from quarterback Erik Kramer, who struggled with depression and shot himself in the head last year but survived.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/12/23/rashaan-salaam-colorado-football-1994-heisman-trophy-winner-death/95739900/

[JonLP24]

2. I watched the Showtime documentary on Lawrence Phillips

Very sad.