Former NFL cornerback Alphonso Smith Jr. has died at the age of 40.
Sources including TMZ Sports say the American football player died by suicide on Wednesday at a housing community in his hometown, Pahokee, in Florida.
Before his demise, Smith shared a message on Facebook where he stated that he did not receive the help that he needed, while also explaining that he was fighting “demons.”
“Do not cry for me! I tried everything in my power to fight the demons behind the ones that someone put into ME! I did not want to be that WAY! I know I have disappointed so many folks. This is a DEMON in me! But not only me! It’s EVERYONE! I have HURT so many! I needed help & did not get it!”.
“To my kids, daddy is SO SORRY! To my friends, I love you all, but your boy was f***** up!
“To my family, BABY, my MOM, my siblings, things happened to your boy, your brother while I was little that an older lady did onto me.”
“I am SORRY! THIS IS IT!”
Smith, born October 20, 1985, in Pahokee, made his name at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
He set an Atlantic Coast Conference record with 21 career interceptions, earned consensus All-American honours in 2008, and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Denver Broncos selected him 37th overall in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
After one season in Denver, he was traded to the Detroit Lions in September 2010, where he spent three seasons.
Between 2009 and 2012, Smith appeared in 42 games, recording 88 tackles and eight interceptions.
His five interceptions led the Lions in 2010.
