Former NFL Player Alphonso Smith Dead After Haunting Facebook Post
The former cornerback & Wake Forest standout died by suicide at a housing community in Florida and his mental state is being questioned.
Black News 
Former NFL player Alphonso Smith Jr. has reportedly died.
TMZ confirms that the former cornerback died by suicide at a housing community in Florida.
His mental state is being questioned because, hours before his death, he posted a long, troubling message to his Facebook account.
He begins the message by telling his loved ones, “Do not cry for me! I tried everything in my power to fight the demons behind the ones that someone put into ME!”
He says he didn’t want things to end up like this and knows he’s disappointing a lot of people, but there is a “DEMON in me!”
Smith also acknowledges that he hurt so many and was aware that he needed professional help but didn’t seek it out.
“I am so sorry! I am a piece of sh-t! It’s a lot of you that are! I am A COWARD! A HUGE COWARD!” he continues.
He follows that with a message to his inner circle, writing, “To my kids, daddy is SO SORRY! To my friends, I love you all, but your boy was f-cked.”
The hurt he inflicted upon others may be cyclical, as he points to trauma he experienced as an adolescent, revealing, “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. As a result guys, I did the same onto others! Please forgive me! Please pray over your families! PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL I’ve affected!”
Acknowledging his mistakes, he writes, “I am the WORST & I pray my soul rest in heaven for my heart is pure, but my BRAIN & experience is MESSED UP!!”
He ominously ended the message by writing, “THIS IS IT!”
Smith’s football career peaked in college, when he put up impressive numbers at Wake Forest from 2005-2008, earning two-time first-team All-ACC honors and All-American honors his senior year. His name will go down as one of the most productive defensive college players of all time, and he holds the ACC record for most interceptions with 21.
His NFL career wasn’t as successful, with only 42 games for the Denver Broncos, who drafted him, and the Detroit Lions before retiring in 2012.
He also had a few transgressions, including being fired from his head coaching job at Florida’s Pahokee High School football team over “inappropriate conduct” allegations.
Then in 2016, after an alleged altercation with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, he was charged with domestic battery. Though the arrest report obtained by the Sun Sentinel says “the woman showed no physical signs of injury.”
See the reactions to Smith’s death below.
