Athletes That Died Far Too Young

The accidental passing of a former NFL quarterback in the summer of 2023 was one of several tragic reminders that even the most accomplished professional athletes in the world aren’t immune to the cruelest twists of fate. The shocking news of Ryan Mallett’s death at the age of 35 in June 2023 was a sudden blow to the NFL community. He started his college football career at the University of Michigan in 2007, but then transferred to Arkansas the following year. While playing for the Razorbacks, he broke several school records, including the most passing yards in a season. Then in 2011, he was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the NFL Draft. Mallett’s career with the Patriots was short lived, though, and by 2014 he was traded to the Houston and Texans, where he played for two seasons. He was released in 2015 and then he signed with the Baltimore Ravens, where he played until 2017. After a brief hiatus, he returned to football in 2021 as the quarterback for the Spring League Generals. Then he began coaching the Whitehall High School football team in Whitehall, Arkansas in 2022. But then in 2023, tragedy struck as Mallet drowned while swimming with his girlfriend in the beach waters of Destin, FL. He likely attempted to swim back but couldn’t make it to the shoreline safely Is known in football. Whether it was in Fayetteville, the NFL or here in Whitehall. Few athletes choose to hang up their cleats for the military. But for Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, the decision couldn’t have been easier. Born in November 1976, Tillman was the oldest of three sons who went on to become a high school football star in San Jose, CA. He then earned a full scholarship to play at Arizona State University. After a solid college career, he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 1998. Tillman was an absolute force in the NFL. He was offered lucrative opportunities to play with other teams, including a $9 million contract from the Saint Louis Rams, but he was ultimately loyal to the team he started with. Then, three years into his career, the tragic September 11th attacks happened, which inspired Tillman to give up his NFL career and enlist in the Army with his brother Kevin in May 2002. After completing training, Tillman was deployed to Iraq in late 2003. Alas, his time in the military was cut short when he was accidentally shot three times by an allied soldier in a tense firefight exchange in Afghanistan on April 22nd, 2004. He was only 27. Jose Fernandez overcame some significant hardships to make it as a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Cuba in 1992, he grew up playing baseball from a young age and had dreams of making it to the big leagues in the United States. That journey wasn’t easy, though, with Fernandez and his family making three attempts to defect from Cuba in the mid 2000s. Each of those attempts resulted in jail time, but by 2008, Fernandez successfully made it to the United States and settled in Tampa, FL. After graduating from high school, Fernandez was selected as the 14th overall pick by the Miami Marlins in the 2011 MLB Draft. He had an electric start to his Major League career as he was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2013. Fernandez continued to break records and LED the Marlins to several victories in the next few seasons. But just five days after his last game on September 20th, 2016, he and two other men died in a boating accident off of Miami Beach. It was later determined that he was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine when he crashed the boat. The Marlins for their part, saying despite this report they believe Fernandez leaves a lasting positive legacy in our community. Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Joe Jellybean Bryant, and started playing the game when he was just three years old. During his teenage years, he soared at Lower Marion High School outside of Philadelphia, where he led the team to four consecutive state championships. After graduating from high school, he was selected as the 13th pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft. However, he was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers where he would play for the entirety of his twenty year career. Ryan quickly became one of the best shooting guards in the NBA with his style compared to legends like Michael Jordan. He helped lead the Lakers to five NBA championships, including a three peat from 2000 to 2002. After a Hall of Fame worthy career, he hung up his jersey and retired from the NBA in 2016. In the following years he kept busy with several diverse projects including launching a production company, a venture capital firm, and riding the Oscar winning animated short film Dear Basketball. But then on January 26th, 2020, a terrible tragedy struck When Bryant died in a helicopter crash along with his 13 year old daughter Gianna and seven others, he was only 41. It’s basically impossible to think about NASCAR without also thinking of Dale Earnhardt. Over the course of his career he won 7 Winston Cup races as well as seven Cup championships. He got his start in NASCAR in the 1975 World 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and started his first season in 1979. He won his first Cup in 1980 and went on to earn the nickname The Intimidator due to his aggressive driving style and passion for winning. In addition to his NASCAR career, Earnhardt built a multibillion dollar business that sold merchandise and souvenirs ranging from T-shirts to toy cars. He became a father to four children, including Dale Earnhardt Junior, who followed his dad onto the track. Father and son competed in a handful of the same races, including the 2001 Daytona 500. That race would unfortunately, be Earnhardt seniors last. His car collided with fellow racers Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin and then crashed into a wall on the last lap of of the race. Earnhardt was just a couple months shy of his 50th birthday and his tragic death sent shock waves throughout the NASCAR community. And for some reason, Dale Earnhardt was taken from us. In his prime, NFL safety Sean Taylor fully embodied his nickname of MIST, which came from the expression half man, half beast. In his four season career in Washington, he developed a complex reputation as one of the best defensive players in the league who also had a tendency to trash talk and run into legal trouble. Despite it all, he was beloved by fans and on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Taylor’s football journey began in earnest in high school when he played both running back and defensive back and helped his team win the Florida Class 2A state championship. He would later secure a spot on the University of Miami Hurricanes where he earned All American honors. Following that successful college career, Taylor was chosen as the 5th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. But then on November 26th, 2007, his life was cut short when he was shot in the leg at his home during an attempted burglary. His femoral artery was severed, which resulted in extensive blood loss. He died in the hospital the next day. He was only 24. The legacy of public figures is often complicated by secrets that become exposed after their deaths. NFL quarterback Steve McNair was generally considered one of the game’s best players in the late 90s and early 2000s, with multiple Pro Bowl appearances and an MVP award under his belt by the time he retired in 2008. McNair played high school ball at Mount Olive High School in Mississippi, where he also competed in track, basketball and baseball. He was recruited by multiple colleges for football and he ultimately settled on Alcorn State University in Lorman, Ms. He played from 1991 to 1994. In 1995, he was picked number three overall in the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, who later became the Tennessee Oilers and then the Tennessee Titans. McNair spent most of his pro career in Tennessee, including a trip to the Super Bowl in 2000. In 2006, he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, where he finished his career after two seasons with the team. Post retirement, McNair spent time with his wife and children, but was ultimately swept up into an affair that would tragically end his life. On July 4th, 2009, he was shot in a murder suicide by his girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi. He was just 36 and she was only 20, his wife Michelle told ESPNI. Think. I was just so. I felt just abandoned in his short lived professional baseball career. Pitcher Tyler Skaggs played with two Major League teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels. He was a star player in high school and was selected by the Angels as the 40th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Although he was later traded to the Diamondbacks. In 2011 he was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and then he was called up to the big leagues. On August 21st, 2012, he made his debut against the Miami Marlins. Although he spent most of the 2013 season back in the minors, later in 2013 Skaggs was traded back to the Angels. The following year he suffered A partial tear to his ulnar collateral ligament, which led him to have Tommy John surgery. He returned for a few games in the 2016 season, but was out again for three months in 2017 after an oblique muscle strain. He stayed healthy throughout 2018, which ended up being the best season of his career, but his 2019 season was tragically cut short by a sudden passing On July 1st, at the age of 27, he died in a South Lake, Texas, hotel room of asphyxia after choking on his own vomit. He was reportedly under the influence of fentanyl, oxycodone, and alcohol at the time. It was later determined that former Angels communications director Eric Kay provided Skaggs with the drugs. Kay was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison in October 2022. During his time with the Cincinnati Bengals, wide receiver Chris Henry had a rough reputation despite his value on the field. He was also arrested for drug and alcohol use and suspended by the NFL for rules violations. Before Henry’s pro career, he was a multi sport athlete at Belle Chase High School in Louisiana where he played football, basketball and track. In 2002, he kicked off his college career for the West Virginia University Mountaineers. He also developed a reputation for ejections and suspensions, which posed a problem for his professional prospects. Nevertheless, in 2005, the Bengals selected him in the third round of the draft while in the NFL. Henry’s quick temper and string of bad decisions led to him being eventually waived by the Bengals in April 2008, but after he appeared to change his ways, the organization resigned him for a two year contract. That August. Henry played for one more season with the Bengals before he died in December 2009 after falling out of a pickup truck that was being driven by his fiance. They had reportedly been in the midst of a domestic dispute when the incident occurred. Henry was only 26. The Emmy says it’s impossible to know whether he jumped or fell. Either way, Chris Henry’s death would be classified as an accident. Linebacker Derek Thomas is generally considered to be one of the best pass rushers in NFL history. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs for 11 seasons from 1989 to 1999 and made it to the Pro Bowl a total of nine times. Thomas started playing sports at a young age, eventually making it to the University of Alabama where he became a star on the gridiron. During his time with the Crimson Tide, he broke the school record for career sax and was named an All American. He was chosen as the 4th overall pick by the Chiefs in the 1989 NFL Draft and went on to become one of the franchise’s most beloved players. Following the end of the 1999 season, Thomas had plans to watch the NFC Championship Game in Saint Louis with a group of friends. As he drove down the snowy and icy Interstate 435, his car flipped and he suffered injuries to his neck and back which left him paralyzed from the chest down. While in recovery, he suffered A pulmonary embolism and died on February 8th, 2000. He was only 33.