Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam committed suicide -coroner
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[December 30, 2016]
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - Rashaan Salaam, a
winner of college football's Heisman Trophy, committed suicide by
shooting himself in the head in a park in Boulder, Colorado, earlier
this month, a county coroner said on Thursday.
A toxicology report showed Salaam, 42, had a blood-alcohol level of
0.25, three times the legal limit for operating a vehicle in
Colorado. His blood also contained 55 nanograms of THC, the
psychoactive property of marijuana.
"The decedent reportedly has a history of depression; and recent
life stressors," the report noted. The report did not specify what
stressors Salaam experienced.
A passerby found Salaam's body on Dec. 5, Boulder police said.
Salaam, who had played for the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland
Browns, lived in Superior, Colorado, just southeast of Boulder.
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Salaam won the Heisman Trophy, college football's highest honor, as
a University of Colorado running back in 1994, becoming the only
player from that school to do so. A California native, he was the
son of another NFL player, former Cincinnati Bengals running back
Teddy Washington.
The Chicago Bears chose him in the first round of the 1995 NFL
draft, and he also played for the Cleveland Browns in a career
lasting four seasons.
Salaam's brother, Jabali Alaji, told USA Today this month that
Salaam suffered from depression and had symptoms associated with
football head trauma, including memory loss and vision problems.
The family declined to have the coroner perform additional tests
that would indicate whether Salaam suffered from chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE). The report said the autopsy would be performed
in accordance with the religious preferences of Salaam and his next
of kin. Salaam was Muslim.
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![](../images/123016pics/sports49.jpg)
Colorado tailback Rashaan Salaam, stands with the Heisman Trophy,
College Football's highest award, after being named the outstanding
college football player of 1994 at the Downtown Athletic Club in New
York, U.S. on December 10, 1994. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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CTE,
a progressive degenerative disease of the brain seen in athletes and
others with histories of repetitive brain trauma, has been
discovered during autopsies on several former National Football
League players.
The University of Colorado said its football team will honor Salaam
with a helmet decal displaying his initials and numerals 19, his
number during his time playing for the school, when they play
Oklahoma State in Thursday's Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Additional reporting by David
Ingram in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker)
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