Dude I had the pleasure of hanging out with Vernon Davis through a mutual friend (we were both groomsmen at his wedding) and he is SUCH a nice guy. Endlessly positive, high energy, nice to everyone. This makes me so so sad for him and their whole family.
But that’s a great story about Vernon. Always loved that guy and he always seemed nice, but you never know from tv interviews. Good to have that confirmed by someone who actually met and spent some time with him. Tragic stories abound in his family. Quite sad for him about all this.
Vernon is sooo freaking nice! I love hanging out with him. Awesome guy. I know him personally. He lives down the street from me. We hung out a couple times. Very genuine and sincere.
Will never forget him getting traded on Hard Knocks and the first thing he said - through teary eyes - was, “Can I call my Grandma?”
Tosh.0 or Joel Mchale put it on their show. I forget which one.
Vontae seemed like a good dude. Rest in peace.
The cameras made him out to look childish, like a dumb jock.....but my take on it was this man just got told the worst news you can hear as a professional ball player and his first thought was to call the person he loves the most.
The reporting is saying he died at his grandmothers house, which I assume is the same grandmother.....and if so, just reinforces how much he loved grandma
Semi off topic but grandparents like that who raise their grandkids as their own kids have a special place in heaven fr (obviously like any statement im sure there are exceptions, I just mean that raising one set of kids to adulthood and then doing it all over again must be a lot)
Agreed. Growing up my best friend who lived across the street was raised by his grandma along with his brother, sister and always multiple foster children, as well as me a good bit because my parents worked late so I was always over there after school. She was tough as nails, but we all loved and respected her. She worked all Lockheed building damn airplanes during the day as well. It's actually crazy I have no idea how she did it by herself
I’m not sure if I ever met anyone who said he looked childish? The general perception of that scene has always been that it’s a sad reality of what happens behind closed doors on NFL teams and how emotional it can get despite it being “just business.”
As someone who’s been on the receiving end of that call (childhood best friend), it’s gut-wrenching. “I have to go turn in my iPad now” was pretty surreal to hear
“Davis' first reaction was to ask whether he could call his grandma and his brother. He didn't know cameras were tucked inside the room, capturing his intimate moment that would become a viral sensation.
"There's this perception that there's brotherhood in the NFL and we're all fighting for each other and the same things," Megan says. "And then you embarrass one of your first-round draft picks on national television without him knowing there's a camera in the room?"
"I felt kind of violated," Vontae says. "It was a lot of B.S."
Just searched for it, they didn’t mention Davis’ name they just “laid off” their cue card guy and he says “can I call my grandma”. It was like a hard knocks satire skit
https://youtu.be/0QcA1LubTes?si=qZbv6pu4k6nOMLKx
I just watched this on YT and someone commented the reason he wanted to call his grandma is that she was a lifelong Colts fan. Hope it’s true. RIP, Vontae.
\*Based on brains that have been studied, *9*1.7% had CTE
EDIT: [Source](https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/) that states 91.7% of ex-NFL players' brains studied had CTE
EDIT 2: Edited my original post to highlight possible selection bias
>The NFL player data should not be interpreted to suggest that 91.7 percent of all current and former NFL players have CTE, as brain bank samples are subject to selection biases.
From your source, FWIW.
Thank you for actually reading. This is not to say that CTE isn’t a problem, but unless we make an effort to understand the statistics, we can’t realistically hope to address the problem.
Yeah its like picking out 80 cars in a parking lot that have a puddle of coolant under them. You do the test and decide 99% of cars have a radiator leak.
I remember on the cowboys packers game they had “BE LOVE” at the back of the endzone like wtf are y’all trying to say lmao. I remember it well cause Love torched them and I guess he really was “being love” more than anyone else that day
Baseball is the sport to excel in if you could pick one. Biggest contracts, way less of a risk of head injury, and easier on your body than most other sports (excluding pitchers and catchers).
Or throw the ball 90+ mph. Last time I went in front of a radar gun I think I threw out my shoulder in an effort to see how fast I could get it, and was humbled when I couldn’t even get over 50.
https://wsvn.com/sports/former-dolphins-cornerback-vontae-davis-found-dead-at-southwest-ranches-home-7news-source-says/
Sad as this looks like it's true. They were reporting a "Dead male found at the home" still less than an hour ago but the news looks like it confirmed it's VD.
It seems like they were just referencing the article as part of the news story, because WSVN has not reported Vontae as confirmed dead, like TMZ did in this article.
Probably some local person on TMZ payroll managed to confirm the body was actually Vontae.
The TMZ article includes confirmation of death from a previous coach and a childhood friend, neither of which I would assume get to know before anyone in his family.
I think it's more the opposite at this point. People who are likely to be the first to find these things out know they can contact TMZ and get an offer within like 5 minutes.
Yeah, TMZ is a household name and has built connections with agencies and individuals all over the world at this point. When people have something on a celebrity they know exactly who to go to.
Started with MJ in that all credible news sources were forced to cite TMZ as their source when they were by far the earliest with the scoop... that's the moment they became a legit source. Before then, news outlets would not acknowledge them
The latest episode of "The Town" podcast was on exactly this topic if you're curious. https://www.theringer.com/2024/3/29/24116033/inside-tmzs-cozy-relationship-with-hollywood
But yeah, they pay and have relationships with various local officials.
[I'll always remember Davis chasing down Joe McKnight from behind](https://youtu.be/v5byw96Vt00?si=QAzX8M6QtZ_rZc9G&t=25m03s) in the 2008 Rose Bowl (2007 season). McKnight was fast but Davis was fast as fuck. As a USC fan who didn't pay much attention to programs nationally, that play put Davis on the map for me.
Ironically, I don't think he even broke 2000 yards passing the Rose Bowl year. He was just a good athlete but struggled heavily with accuracy.
RIP to Vontae, though... him and Daniel Dufrene both gone too soon from that era.
Ugh his death was so fucked up. It was a fucking road rage incident of all things. Guy was a LHSAA legend. Never forget when he went to Hoover High in Alabama after they had their own TV show and proceeded to spank the ever living shit out of them on ESPN.
And it also was tied up in other things too - guy was sentenced to 30 years, appealed, Supreme Court then set a new precedent (not cause of him just incidental) so it basically reset his trial. Happened in 2016 and only recently I think was he officially sentenced to jail for 10 years. All while STILL being in jail. Court systems are crazy
Also to point out, the man is demonstrably guilty of killing him. I believe he even may have stood over and fired a shot into him while he was lying on the ground. Im just saying our court system is weird and complicated
I’m an Illini fan and we got absolutely wrecked by USC, but this is still one of my favorite plays in program history.
McKnight was universally recognized as the fastest man in college football and Vontae ran him down like it was absolutely nothing. 16 years later and it’s still mind-blowing how fast he was.
RIP to both of them.
I rewatched a bit of that highlight to find the McKnight clip, and the final score doesn't do you guys justice. The game was a dogfight up until you guys fumbled on the goal line in the third quarter. If you scored, it would've been 21-17 with Illinois holding all the momentum. That Illinois team was really, really good.
For a time, he really was a stellar CB and considered one of the elite players at that position in the league.
Man, I'm turning 35 this month. I feel so bad for his entire family.
His mother had addiction issues and passed away a few years ago. They were raised by their grandmother, and unfortunately, the grandmother is who found Vontae.
It's crazy how this keeps happening to young NFL retirees. I think VJax really hit me hard because he basically just drank himself to death with Stage 2 CTE. In my mind I consider that a type of suicide as well.
Medically/legally I believe intentional neglect of one’s self that leads to death can be classified as suicide. I believe I’ve seen that be the case with people who have eating disorders and are unhealthily under or overweight.
Terribly sad.
I believe the term is "death of despair" when someone dies due to suicide, drug or alcohol overdose, or liver failure (due to alcoholic liver disease).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair
I think it’s not just CTE same thing happens in the top tier military units. It’s when they lose their identity they have a hard time adjusting. A lot of his life he was introduced as “the Star CB at Illinois” or the “NFL player” then when you retire you’re just Vontae Davis or the ex NFL player. When it’s all you know it’s hard.
I don't want to speculate too much, but in general many NFL players have trouble finding purpose post-retirment. It's a rough game so they get out relatively young, and now the thing they put an obscene amount of effort and energy into through most of their life is gone and now they're just directionless. They honestly need better post-retirment mentorship to help give these guys direction and purpose after they leave the game.
A lot of people fear retirement in their 60s because they don't know what they're going to do to fill all the time they suddenly have. It's a real struggle. Now imagine that in your 30s-40s with a whole lot more time ahead of you.
I can't even imagine what the rush of playing in front of 70,000 people plus millions watching worldwide is like. Don't know how you even come close to replicating that post-retirement.
The episode of Ted Lasso where Roy leaves his final game and goes to the locker room as a player for the last time, idk why but it immediately put me in his shoes and made me depressed. In that moment, the one thing that has defined your life since childhood has ended. I almost teared up because that really must feel like a type of death for an athlete.
there’s an excellent article/interview ESPN did with him about a year later where he goes in depth about it, really recommend reading it for anyone interested. dude was super interesting
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27636876/nfl-veteran-vontae-davis-quit-nfl-midgame-here-happened-next
vernon davis is his brother also for those who didn’t know
I like how the video on top says "Del Rio still not a fan of Davis quitting at halftime"
If Del Rio isn't a fan, it probably means it was the right thing to do. Del Rio is a jackass.
Tre White was talking with others about Vontae retiring at the half saying "it's a young man's game". It's been around as a funny clip for a while but now it seems kinda dark
Edit: [here's the video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGJd7L2EPw) , it was Shady talking to Tre
Yeah, but that was an all-time retirement. Makes sense people immediately think about it, especially since it was more recent than him being the star he was.
"I gotta call my grandma" dude looked so crushed...
I was really happy to see him bounce back. Outside of F/A rentals we havent had a solid shutdown corner since he left.
Honest to God I never looked at it as a meme. Dude retired simply because he was done with the sport. I can respect that instead of just cashing it in for a few years.
I don’t know what’s harder to believe: the fact that that happened 6 years ago or the fact that he was only 30 when he retired. It’s crazy how young some of these guys are when they retire despite playing 9-10 years in the league and the game has passed them by already.
RB always gets recognition for how hard it is to have longevity, but CB is just as brutal. Gotta go step for step with a new class of WRs coming in each year. Fuck up on a few plays and everyone sees it. There's little tolerance for losing a step at CB. You can either keep up or you can't. A mediocre CB is a way bigger liability than a mediocre RB. Bradberry for example, dude was considered an elite CB a few years ago, now no one wants him to even touch the field again.
In some way I agree, but that was a legendary move.
Getting 30 minutes into the season and deciding you're too old for this shit is the funniest shit ever. It's no shade at all, we've all felt like that at one point, most of us just don't have the balls to follow through.
Elite CB, HOF retirement.
When Bray Wyatt from the wwe died, more than one of his coworkers found out live on the air on podcasts or interviews. Booker T, Big Show, it was fucked up.
RIP, man. Vernon Davis has had a tough ass life. His mother was addicted to drugs. One of his other brothers had schizophrenia and killed a person/people in DC with a hammer back in the day, IIRC, as well.
Terribly sad. Unfortunately high level athletes can struggle with the extreme changes after retirement. Football was these guys life likely since 8 years old and retiring from that can lead to an emptiness.
Many try to replace that empty feeling with short term gratification (often alcohol or drug use) which can go wrong. On top of that these players deal with physical struggles that can compound their mental issues. Athletic culture has made addressing these mental health taboo for a long time with only minimal progress made recently.
I don't know what Davis was going through but it is always a tragedy when someone dies so young.
Man that’s so insane. As I get older (I’m still in my 20s) I realize how easily life could be taken away. That woman was presumably just minding her business and some lunatic psycho made sure she was never gonna make it home. Absolutely crazy
I'm a big Illinois fan and still remember his time in college football at Illinois quite well. Had a solid career in the NFL, even with the bizarre ending. Sad to hear that he has passed at such an age.
Everyone remembers him for retiring mid-game but I remember him as a really underrated CB on the Colts.
The last time I saw/heard about him he did a Draftkings or a betting commercial where he joked about his retirement.
Was an elite CB that unfortunately is always going to be associated with retiring in the middle of a game.
That game was against us, with Nathan Peterman as the Bills QB. He threw five INTs in the first half IIRC. Always thought that was the most dominant game of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. They looked unstoppable that day, I'd have retired too if I was playing against them.
RIP, he was a really good CB that had a tough upbringing.
Edit: apologies, apparently that wasn’t the same year. Crazy I would have bet a million it was.
Regardless, a great player at his peak. RIP
> That game was against us, with Nathan Peterman as the Bills QB.
It was against us but it's not the game you are thinking. That game took place in 2017. The game he retired was the following season in Josh Allen's rookie year.
>unfortunately is always going to be associated with retiring in the middle of a game.
Why is that unfortunate? That's the exact kind of thing that will get people to reminisce and laugh and say "damn I miss that guy".
I was in a terrible job at the time, and was really struggling with heavy workload when that moment happened. Dude was my hero for just quitting at halftime, and was part of what pushed me to go find a better gig.
It was a well known fact that Vernon Davis and Vontae Davis were brothers but it’s been so long I had forgotten. Sad for their family.
I did not know this. huh.
Same it’s wild I had no idea and I was a pretty big fan of Vernon Davis back in the day
not as big of a fan as [TJ McDonald](https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2013/12/1/5164244/vernon-davis-gets-tackled-by-um-you-know-um-yeah) was
Dude I had the pleasure of hanging out with Vernon Davis through a mutual friend (we were both groomsmen at his wedding) and he is SUCH a nice guy. Endlessly positive, high energy, nice to everyone. This makes me so so sad for him and their whole family.
But that’s a great story about Vernon. Always loved that guy and he always seemed nice, but you never know from tv interviews. Good to have that confirmed by someone who actually met and spent some time with him. Tragic stories abound in his family. Quite sad for him about all this.
Vernon is sooo freaking nice! I love hanging out with him. Awesome guy. I know him personally. He lives down the street from me. We hung out a couple times. Very genuine and sincere.
I’ve never heard a bad word about him. He seems like a real genuine person. That’s a lot of tragedy for one family to endure.
I met him while deployed overseas. He was part of the USO tour with Jason Witten, Mario Williams, and Joe Thomas. He was very gracious then too.
And their other brother--Michael--murdered a random person with a hammer in DC. Lot of trauma in the family.
When did that happen?
2012
he had untreated schizophrenia IIRC
That was his brother? I had no idea there was a connection.
I keep getting their names confused. My prayers go out to Vernon and the family.
Will never forget him getting traded on Hard Knocks and the first thing he said - through teary eyes - was, “Can I call my Grandma?” Tosh.0 or Joel Mchale put it on their show. I forget which one. Vontae seemed like a good dude. Rest in peace.
The cameras made him out to look childish, like a dumb jock.....but my take on it was this man just got told the worst news you can hear as a professional ball player and his first thought was to call the person he loves the most. The reporting is saying he died at his grandmothers house, which I assume is the same grandmother.....and if so, just reinforces how much he loved grandma
Their (Vontae and Vernon) grandma is/was basically their mom. Sad news.
Semi off topic but grandparents like that who raise their grandkids as their own kids have a special place in heaven fr (obviously like any statement im sure there are exceptions, I just mean that raising one set of kids to adulthood and then doing it all over again must be a lot)
Agreed. Growing up my best friend who lived across the street was raised by his grandma along with his brother, sister and always multiple foster children, as well as me a good bit because my parents worked late so I was always over there after school. She was tough as nails, but we all loved and respected her. She worked all Lockheed building damn airplanes during the day as well. It's actually crazy I have no idea how she did it by herself
I’m not sure if I ever met anyone who said he looked childish? The general perception of that scene has always been that it’s a sad reality of what happens behind closed doors on NFL teams and how emotional it can get despite it being “just business.”
Damn the news itself was already sad… but this got me
I understand this love for your grandmother. It’s special. I’m sorry he passed at her house.
As someone who’s been on the receiving end of that call (childhood best friend), it’s gut-wrenching. “I have to go turn in my iPad now” was pretty surreal to hear
“Davis' first reaction was to ask whether he could call his grandma and his brother. He didn't know cameras were tucked inside the room, capturing his intimate moment that would become a viral sensation. "There's this perception that there's brotherhood in the NFL and we're all fighting for each other and the same things," Megan says. "And then you embarrass one of your first-round draft picks on national television without him knowing there's a camera in the room?" "I felt kind of violated," Vontae says. "It was a lot of B.S."
wtf.
NFL gonna NFL
Probably Tosh, if I had to guess. He's a big Miami fan
Just searched for it, they didn’t mention Davis’ name they just “laid off” their cue card guy and he says “can I call my grandma”. It was like a hard knocks satire skit https://youtu.be/0QcA1LubTes?si=qZbv6pu4k6nOMLKx
I just watched this on YT and someone commented the reason he wanted to call his grandma is that she was a lifelong Colts fan. Hope it’s true. RIP, Vontae.
Unfortunate news. RIP. Way too young
Wonder what’ll happen when we find out he has CTE
did they already rule the cause of death?
No, but that won’t stop Reddit from speculating.
shark attack
No way, dude, sharks are notoriously afraid of dolphins. Everyone knows this.
Or twitter from being flooded with endless replies about vaccinations
Must be a day ending in Y
\*Based on brains that have been studied, *9*1.7% had CTE EDIT: [Source](https://www.bumc.bu.edu/camed/2023/02/06/researchers-find-cte-in-345-of-376-former-nfl-players-studied/) that states 91.7% of ex-NFL players' brains studied had CTE EDIT 2: Edited my original post to highlight possible selection bias
>The NFL player data should not be interpreted to suggest that 91.7 percent of all current and former NFL players have CTE, as brain bank samples are subject to selection biases. From your source, FWIW.
Thank you for actually reading. This is not to say that CTE isn’t a problem, but unless we make an effort to understand the statistics, we can’t realistically hope to address the problem.
that study was done so that people who suspected they had it donated the brain its not a random sampling.
Yeah its like picking out 80 cars in a parking lot that have a puddle of coolant under them. You do the test and decide 99% of cars have a radiator leak.
NFL will make a press release about how it takes player safety seriously and give all players tinted visors for awareness.
And then announce 18th game then 19th couple years later
And you'll continue to watch
*We'll**
Don’t forget some cheesy tagline at the back of the endzone
\#brainmattermatters
I remember on the cowboys packers game they had “BE LOVE” at the back of the endzone like wtf are y’all trying to say lmao. I remember it well cause Love torched them and I guess he really was “being love” more than anyone else that day
generic helmet sticker for preseason week 1 and that’ll be the end of it.
The older I get, the more thankful I am that I sucked at sports.
Baseball is the sport to excel in if you could pick one. Biggest contracts, way less of a risk of head injury, and easier on your body than most other sports (excluding pitchers and catchers).
There's that one minor detail of being able to swing a bat at a baseball that's moving 90+ mph. I had no hope lol.
Or throw the ball 90+ mph. Last time I went in front of a radar gun I think I threw out my shoulder in an effort to see how fast I could get it, and was humbled when I couldn’t even get over 50.
Golf. Still a ton of money (especially if you are good enough for the saudis) and zero risk.
https://wsvn.com/sports/former-dolphins-cornerback-vontae-davis-found-dead-at-southwest-ranches-home-7news-source-says/ Sad as this looks like it's true. They were reporting a "Dead male found at the home" still less than an hour ago but the news looks like it confirmed it's VD.
TMZ is almost never wrong tbh. This source means way more to me than WSVN
They cited WSVN as the source.
It seems like they were just referencing the article as part of the news story, because WSVN has not reported Vontae as confirmed dead, like TMZ did in this article. Probably some local person on TMZ payroll managed to confirm the body was actually Vontae.
The TMZ article includes confirmation of death from a previous coach and a childhood friend, neither of which I would assume get to know before anyone in his family.
they always manage to get shit like, immediately. genuinely no idea how they do it.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
They have a way of finding/paying people in the police departments, morgues... any sources who have early access.
I think it's more the opposite at this point. People who are likely to be the first to find these things out know they can contact TMZ and get an offer within like 5 minutes.
yeah, this
Someone at scene or inside source familiar with TMZ and how much they will pay. Contacts them, boom. They probably send someone out as well.
Yeah, TMZ is a household name and has built connections with agencies and individuals all over the world at this point. When people have something on a celebrity they know exactly who to go to.
All started when they reported Michael Jackson
Kobe Bryant is what made me believe TMZ would never be wrong after how fast they were able to report on his crash.
TMZ reporting Kobe's death was what made me realize it wasn't a false report lol they had been reputable since way before 2020
Started with MJ in that all credible news sources were forced to cite TMZ as their source when they were by far the earliest with the scoop... that's the moment they became a legit source. Before then, news outlets would not acknowledge them
within hours of that accident in dallas the other day, they had dashcam footage and like a dozen pictures.
They were also the ones that got a hold of the Ray Rice video.
TMZ pays for sources and pays a lot for photos and videos. Your average local news outlet will not ethically pay sources for stories.
They pay their sources. Most news organizations won't do that.
The latest episode of "The Town" podcast was on exactly this topic if you're curious. https://www.theringer.com/2024/3/29/24116033/inside-tmzs-cozy-relationship-with-hollywood But yeah, they pay and have relationships with various local officials.
They’re actually wrong quite a bit about like gossipy things with celebrities - but they aren’t usually wrong about verifiable things like this
Man, 35 is way too young. One of my favorite Illinois players too. Rest easy, Vontae.
[I'll always remember Davis chasing down Joe McKnight from behind](https://youtu.be/v5byw96Vt00?si=QAzX8M6QtZ_rZc9G&t=25m03s) in the 2008 Rose Bowl (2007 season). McKnight was fast but Davis was fast as fuck. As a USC fan who didn't pay much attention to programs nationally, that play put Davis on the map for me.
Now they’re both gone before age 40.
God damn that’s sobering
yeah for real, brb gotta go tell my wife I love her
That was a crazy Illinois team. I remember Juice Williams was a beast for them.
rashard mendenhall got heisman votes
Ironically, I don't think he even broke 2000 yards passing the Rose Bowl year. He was just a good athlete but struggled heavily with accuracy. RIP to Vontae, though... him and Daniel Dufrene both gone too soon from that era.
Rip to joe McKnight as well
Ugh his death was so fucked up. It was a fucking road rage incident of all things. Guy was a LHSAA legend. Never forget when he went to Hoover High in Alabama after they had their own TV show and proceeded to spank the ever living shit out of them on ESPN.
And it also was tied up in other things too - guy was sentenced to 30 years, appealed, Supreme Court then set a new precedent (not cause of him just incidental) so it basically reset his trial. Happened in 2016 and only recently I think was he officially sentenced to jail for 10 years. All while STILL being in jail. Court systems are crazy Also to point out, the man is demonstrably guilty of killing him. I believe he even may have stood over and fired a shot into him while he was lying on the ground. Im just saying our court system is weird and complicated
damn, and that's how i found out Joe McKnight died.
Road rage incident if I remember correctly
Yeah he got shot back before Covid hit
I’m an Illini fan and we got absolutely wrecked by USC, but this is still one of my favorite plays in program history. McKnight was universally recognized as the fastest man in college football and Vontae ran him down like it was absolutely nothing. 16 years later and it’s still mind-blowing how fast he was. RIP to both of them.
I rewatched a bit of that highlight to find the McKnight clip, and the final score doesn't do you guys justice. The game was a dogfight up until you guys fumbled on the goal line in the third quarter. If you scored, it would've been 21-17 with Illinois holding all the momentum. That Illinois team was really, really good.
For a time, he really was a stellar CB and considered one of the elite players at that position in the league. Man, I'm turning 35 this month. I feel so bad for his entire family.
I’ll be 32 in five months. To hear someone dying around my age is kinda scary.
I'm almost 37. Can't imagine being gone at 35.
Im 40… and im like. Jesus Christ life really isn’t fair.
This sucks. He seemed like such a sweet guy.
Hope Vernon and other Davis family and friends are doing okay. So unfortunate
Vernon has a brother in prison for murder too. Their poor mother.
His mother had addiction issues and passed away a few years ago. They were raised by their grandmother, and unfortunately, the grandmother is who found Vontae.
Dang that grandmother has lived quite a life and been through a hell of a lot
Vernon and Vontae were raised by their grandmother because their parents were druggies.
Damn. That family has some crazy highs and some crazy lows. Hope they find the highs again
Pray for this poor woman
It's their grandma iirc
Correct, she raised all of them on her own.
It do be like that sometimes 😔
The way they’re talking about it on Pat’s show, it sounds like suicide.
When a younger person dies and the media doesn't report the cause of death, that's usually the case.
It's crazy how this keeps happening to young NFL retirees. I think VJax really hit me hard because he basically just drank himself to death with Stage 2 CTE. In my mind I consider that a type of suicide as well.
Medically/legally I believe intentional neglect of one’s self that leads to death can be classified as suicide. I believe I’ve seen that be the case with people who have eating disorders and are unhealthily under or overweight. Terribly sad.
I believe the term is "death of despair" when someone dies due to suicide, drug or alcohol overdose, or liver failure (due to alcoholic liver disease). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair
VJax was crazy to hear. All the stories about his Tampa drinking slowly started trickling out.  What a beast and to be reduced to that just sucks
I think it’s not just CTE same thing happens in the top tier military units. It’s when they lose their identity they have a hard time adjusting. A lot of his life he was introduced as “the Star CB at Illinois” or the “NFL player” then when you retire you’re just Vontae Davis or the ex NFL player. When it’s all you know it’s hard.
Holy shit. I had no idea he died. RIP.
Vjax?
Vincent Jackson. Dude was a beast for many years, never knew he was balling out while fighting so many demons...
Vincent Jackson.
Vincent Jackson, Chargers/Bucs pro bowl WR from the 00s-10s
The NFL is full of young men. I'm not sure the numbers are anymore than general population.
I don't want to speculate too much, but in general many NFL players have trouble finding purpose post-retirment. It's a rough game so they get out relatively young, and now the thing they put an obscene amount of effort and energy into through most of their life is gone and now they're just directionless. They honestly need better post-retirment mentorship to help give these guys direction and purpose after they leave the game. A lot of people fear retirement in their 60s because they don't know what they're going to do to fill all the time they suddenly have. It's a real struggle. Now imagine that in your 30s-40s with a whole lot more time ahead of you.
I can't even imagine what the rush of playing in front of 70,000 people plus millions watching worldwide is like. Don't know how you even come close to replicating that post-retirement.
The episode of Ted Lasso where Roy leaves his final game and goes to the locker room as a player for the last time, idk why but it immediately put me in his shoes and made me depressed. In that moment, the one thing that has defined your life since childhood has ended. I almost teared up because that really must feel like a type of death for an athlete.
35 year olds don’t just drop dead most often
Suicide. The way pat mcafee and his team mate were talking. "Never know what someone's going through"
Idk, early in the show they dropped a "don't do drugs, they aren't safe" comment. Horrible loss however it happened.
Absolutely awful. He was truly a top level CB in the league for a few years with us. Not many can say that.
Unfortunately looks like this is real and not an April Fools day joke. RIP Vontae.
So damn young. What a tragedy.
I was holding out hope it was a bad joke
ah yes the common retired cb dead joke
I hate that TMZ sports puts these out every year!
Gets 'em every time!
News organizations don’t tend to do April Fools jokes about people dying dude
RIP. shoutout to vontae for being an elite cb, and for doing what all of us wish we could when he retired. “fuck this shit, i’m out”
Far too young. Will never forget him on Hard Knocks, after the trade and just wanting to phone home… God rest his soul.
One of the saddest moments in that show. Anytime I see his name that’s what comes to mind
>after the trade and just wanting to phone home… Wanted to call grandma as that was his parental figure.
And she's the one that found him :(
Dude that’s sad af man
fuck :(
iirc didn’t he ask to call his grandma? …and if true, he passed in her house. what a fucking day.
Yeah he bought her a mansion in a very exclusive area in South Florida....this is the house he died in.
Was he the one that retired at halftime? May he rest in peace
there’s an excellent article/interview ESPN did with him about a year later where he goes in depth about it, really recommend reading it for anyone interested. dude was super interesting https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27636876/nfl-veteran-vontae-davis-quit-nfl-midgame-here-happened-next vernon davis is his brother also for those who didn’t know
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGJd7L2EPw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGJd7L2EPw) This version is significantly more interesting to me.
Damn sounds like he was a real one RIP
>“Active or inactive, the Pegula’s still gotta cut that check.” 😭
I like how the video on top says "Del Rio still not a fan of Davis quitting at halftime" If Del Rio isn't a fan, it probably means it was the right thing to do. Del Rio is a jackass.
Tre White was talking with others about Vontae retiring at the half saying "it's a young man's game". It's been around as a funny clip for a while but now it seems kinda dark Edit: [here's the video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjGJd7L2EPw) , it was Shady talking to Tre
Always thought that this video would never *not* be funny, but here we are. RIP
Man this was hilarious still. They wouldn’t have gone to check up on him the next day if they didn’t care. Good story for a sad time
He should be remembered for being an elite CB for the Colts more than the memeable retirement.
Yeah, but that was an all-time retirement. Makes sense people immediately think about it, especially since it was more recent than him being the star he was.
Watching him get cut by the Dolphins on Hard Knocks was tough to watch. Was so glad he ended up balling out on the Colts.
Wasn't he traded?
Shoot, yeah you're right. For a "couple of picks"! How could I forget that part
"I gotta call my grandma" dude looked so crushed... I was really happy to see him bounce back. Outside of F/A rentals we havent had a solid shutdown corner since he left.
the same grandma that owns this home he died in that he probably bought for her. tragic shit man.
Honest to God I never looked at it as a meme. Dude retired simply because he was done with the sport. I can respect that instead of just cashing it in for a few years.
[удалено]
I don’t know what’s harder to believe: the fact that that happened 6 years ago or the fact that he was only 30 when he retired. It’s crazy how young some of these guys are when they retire despite playing 9-10 years in the league and the game has passed them by already.
RB always gets recognition for how hard it is to have longevity, but CB is just as brutal. Gotta go step for step with a new class of WRs coming in each year. Fuck up on a few plays and everyone sees it. There's little tolerance for losing a step at CB. You can either keep up or you can't. A mediocre CB is a way bigger liability than a mediocre RB. Bradberry for example, dude was considered an elite CB a few years ago, now no one wants him to even touch the field again.
he was a legit stud in miami, too. him and sean smith were quietly a really, really solid CB duo.
In some way I agree, but that was a legendary move. Getting 30 minutes into the season and deciding you're too old for this shit is the funniest shit ever. It's no shade at all, we've all felt like that at one point, most of us just don't have the balls to follow through. Elite CB, HOF retirement.
The retirement move is only badass because he was good in his prime
Yup.
Pat McAfee currently reporting this live on his show is heartbreaking.
Yeah you could just hear the emotion when Darius was talking about it. Just awful.
When Bray Wyatt from the wwe died, more than one of his coworkers found out live on the air on podcasts or interviews. Booker T, Big Show, it was fucked up.
Holy shit didn’t know Bray Wyatt died. Last time I followed wrestling (prob 2015) he was a huge star.
His retirement story will always be my favorite story” man I think I’m done” “Like this your last game?” “Nah man that was my last play I’m done”
RIP, man. Vernon Davis has had a tough ass life. His mother was addicted to drugs. One of his other brothers had schizophrenia and killed a person/people in DC with a hammer back in the day, IIRC, as well.
Vernon is a *great* dude too, this is awful news.
My favourite Terp football player ever. Absolute beast.
Losing two siblings that way is awful.... I feel for that family
I was living near Petworth during that hammer spree. Was a bit unnerving going home after dark.
What the hell? RIP big men :(
RIP Vontae That 2014 season sure was special
Terribly sad. Unfortunately high level athletes can struggle with the extreme changes after retirement. Football was these guys life likely since 8 years old and retiring from that can lead to an emptiness. Many try to replace that empty feeling with short term gratification (often alcohol or drug use) which can go wrong. On top of that these players deal with physical struggles that can compound their mental issues. Athletic culture has made addressing these mental health taboo for a long time with only minimal progress made recently. I don't know what Davis was going through but it is always a tragedy when someone dies so young.
The younger brother was charged with murder and declared unfit to stand trial. That family has truly unfortunate luck. May Vontae rest in peace.
He murdered a random woman with a hammer. Literally just walking down the street from what I remember.
Man that’s so insane. As I get older (I’m still in my 20s) I realize how easily life could be taken away. That woman was presumably just minding her business and some lunatic psycho made sure she was never gonna make it home. Absolutely crazy
I'm a big Illinois fan and still remember his time in college football at Illinois quite well. Had a solid career in the NFL, even with the bizarre ending. Sad to hear that he has passed at such an age.
bro what? That's awful. I know he left Buffalo in an unusual manner but 35 is too young, *too young.*
Ah man, listening to the McAfee show right now and hearing him and Darius Butler get emotional about this choked me up
Damn dude, this sucks. 35 is really young, I’ll keep his family and loved ones in mind today
OMG. I still remember his innocence when he was told about the trade and his first statement was “I need to call my grandma” 😞
Everyone remembers him for retiring mid-game but I remember him as a really underrated CB on the Colts. The last time I saw/heard about him he did a Draftkings or a betting commercial where he joked about his retirement.
Godspeed. He quit the Bills the same way I quit my last job. Respect.
Was an elite CB that unfortunately is always going to be associated with retiring in the middle of a game. That game was against us, with Nathan Peterman as the Bills QB. He threw five INTs in the first half IIRC. Always thought that was the most dominant game of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. They looked unstoppable that day, I'd have retired too if I was playing against them. RIP, he was a really good CB that had a tough upbringing. Edit: apologies, apparently that wasn’t the same year. Crazy I would have bet a million it was. Regardless, a great player at his peak. RIP
> That game was against us, with Nathan Peterman as the Bills QB. It was against us but it's not the game you are thinking. That game took place in 2017. The game he retired was the following season in Josh Allen's rookie year.
>unfortunately is always going to be associated with retiring in the middle of a game. Why is that unfortunate? That's the exact kind of thing that will get people to reminisce and laugh and say "damn I miss that guy".
I was in a terrible job at the time, and was really struggling with heavy workload when that moment happened. Dude was my hero for just quitting at halftime, and was part of what pushed me to go find a better gig.
Hard knocks. The first thing he said was he wanted to call his grandma when the Dolphins GM informed him he was being traded to Colts. RIP.
Have the revealed the cause of death? Listening to Pat McAfee and Darius Butler talk about it, sounds like it might have been suicide ?
ILL INI - Rip to an Illinois legend