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Recently, Philadelphia Eagles fans had to deal with the passing of Chuck Bednarik, an icon who was perhaps the greatest player in that franchise’s history.
It is one thing to deal with the loss of a guy who lived to 89, like Bednarik did, but it’s another to deal with the kind of tragedy Denver Broncos fans have had to deal with recently. Former linebacker Adrian Robinson died on Saturday night at the tender age of 25, becoming the fourth ex-Bronco who died before the age of 26. Bednarik lived a full life; Robinson never had that chance.
Robinson’s last message on his Twitter account – which has a photo of him in his Broncos uniform No. 57, exchanging “fives” with defensive teammate Shaun Phillips, was posted on May 12. It read: “Summer and the laugh of my daughter make me believe in God.”
The loss particularly hit home at Temple University, where Robinson was once MAC Defensive Player of the Year. His steal of the ball from Connecticut running back Jordan Todman and subsequent touchdown led to a 30-16 Temple win in a 2010 battle of what would become 8-4 teams. Temple spokesman Kevin Clark released this statement via twitter:
It’s a sad day for the Temple Athletics Family as we mourn the loss of Adrian Robinson. pic.twitter.com/rgtGyqCwxt
— Temple Owls (@TempleOwls) May 18, 2015
Although Robinson was only a Bronco for seven weeks, his passing brought back sad reminders to the organization that in the past eight years had three players die before their 25th birthday: Cornerback Darrent Williams, running back Damien Nash and receiver Kenny McKinley. Williams was murdered in a drive-by shooting on Jan. 1, 2007. Nash died of cardiac-related causes on Feb. 24, 2007. McKinley took his own life with a gunshot wound on Sept. 20, 2010.
The cardiac arrest and gunshot wound losses were disturbing enough, but Robinson’s and McKinley’s deaths were both suicides and fuel at least some speculation that CTE—a brain injury linked with depression and football—might have been involved. If so, the NFL owes it to those two players and maybe others who follow them to do some more research to make sure head injuries and the thin air of playing in Denver were not directly related to the outcome.
Those currently playing for the Broncos and really every other NFL team deserve at least that much.
Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
