ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—The Arapahoe County Sheriff says Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley(notes) was found dead in his home in an apparent suicide.

Kenny McKinley, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2009, was on the Broncos' injured reserve with a leg injury this season.
(AP)

Sheriff Grayson Robinson says authorities were called to McKinley’s home in Centennial on Monday and found his body in the second-floor master bedroom. He says detectives believe McKinley was killed by an self-inflicted gunshot wound.

McKinley’s death is the latest in a series for tragedies for the Broncos since 2007. Cornerback Darrent Williams was slain in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day 2007 and three months later backup running back Damien Nash collapsed and died after a charity basketball game in St. Louis.

oh snap!

(no pun intended...)

RenHoek said:

oh snap!

(no pun intended...)

I mean . . .

damn rip

strange how you can have everything going for you and still not be happy

Horrible.

PicklesMcMillan said:

damn rip

strange how you can have everything going for you and still not be happy

Janet said it best on the Velvet Rope...there's nothing worse than having everything and still feeling sad

Only 23 years old . . . ridiculous.

I'm watching the game and I just heard this...makes you think.

A sad day for Gamecock fans in Columbia, SC.

SCNDLS said:

Only 23 years old . . . ridiculous.

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado (AP)—Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said in a tearful news conference Tuesday that nobody in the organization saw any hint that wide receiver Kenny McKinley(notes) was suicidal before he took his life.

“We’ve all seen him recently. He’s been the same person every time we see him. Liked junk food and chips and things like that,” McDaniels said. “He was in the cafeteria, or in the training room, when we were seeing him the last so many weeks here. Nothing that would alarm us to anything like this.”

McKinley’s body was discovered by a female friend Monday afternoon when she returned to his Centennial home less than four miles from the team’s headquarters after running an errand with his young son, Keon.

Arapahoe County Coroner Michael Dobersen said Tuesday that McKinley, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the head. He said a preliminary investigation “suggests the wound to be self-inflicted.”

The team gathered Tuesday morning and met with grief counselors to help them deal with the death of their friend, who was on injured reserve after hurting his left knee in August and requiring surgery for the second time in eight months.

The players decided to leave McKinley’s locker in place for the remainder of the season as a shrine to their teammate. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard(notes) said McKinley was his usual joking and jovial self in recent weeks, something his college teammates agreed with after he visited the South Carolina campus earlier this month.

McDaniels said the Broncos will observe a moment of silence Sunday before their game against Indianapolis and players will wear white decals with the No. 11 in navy on their helmets.

McKinley was part of McDaniels’ first draft class and McDaniels said nobody had been more excited to get that phone call than McKinley was.

He said he saw McKinley less than two weeks ago in the team cafeteria and saw him smiling as usual. “You could see all of his teeth. Usually could,” McDaniels said. “I don’t have any memories that are really negative about Kenny, because of the spirit he had.”Woodyard said he saw McKinley a week and a half ago when the receiver was retrieving some items from his locker at Dove Valley. They ribbed each other, as usual. “He had a big smile on his face. He just walked out of the building,” Woodyard said. “And that’s the last thing we remember, that huge smile.”

Woodyard said nobody saw any signs that their friend was hurting on the inside. “Every memory that we have of Kenny is a joke and a big smile,” Woodyard said. He said the Broncos will prepare for their game against the Colts with heavy hearts. “We’ve got to play with him on our shoulders and in our hearts,” Woodyard said. “So, I think that’s something that’s going to allow us to continue to push through this week.”

This is the third time in four years the Broncos are dealing with the death of a teammate in shocking circumstances. Cornerback Darrent Williams, 24, was killed in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day 2007, and three months later backup running back Damien Nash, 24, collapsed and died after a charity basketball game in St. Louis.

McKinley’s agent, Andrew Bondarowicz, said family and friends are at a loss to explain the death of a young man “who had such a love for life.” “Everybody has their explanations, their own theories. Whether it was injuries, no one’s going to know for sure,” Bondarowicz said. “It’s a tough situation all the way around. “Some people speculate that it was his being injured, some said it was financial challenges … It’s a tragic situation.”

Bondarowicz said funeral arrangements were pending. He also said he’s been in touch with team and the players’ association about setting up a trust fund for McKinley’s son. McKinley was a fifth-round draft choice out of South Carolina in 2009. He remains South Carolina’s all-time leading receiver with 207 catches for 2,781 yards. He returned to the school earlier this month, watching the Gamecocks beat Georgia 17-6 and visiting with his college coach, Steve Spurrier. “Had a wonderful smile just like he always did,” Spurrier remembered.

The news of McKinley’s death spread quickly at the end of South Carolina’s practice Monday. Players who normally sprint off the field upbeat walked slowly with their heads down.

“Kenny was certainly one of my all-time favorite players. It’s hard to figure out why it happened like this,” Spurrier said.

McKinley played in eight games as a rookie in 2009 with seven kick returns for 158 yards before going on injured reserve with a knee injury on Dec. 29. He recovered and participated in the team’s offseason workouts but got hurt again during the first week of training camp and was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Aug. 5.

I wonder what the heck was going on with him that he would kill himself and leave behind his small son? Somebody must know something. Makes no sense that he would commit suicide for no reason. Obviously he waited until he was alone. Just sad.

phunkdaddy said:

A sad day for Gamecock fans in Columbia, SC.

Absolutely true. That has been all that's on the radio and TV today in Colatown. Kenny was a truly classy guy, a complete team player who broke Gamecock records set by big names like Sterling Sharpe, Robert Brooks, etc. Everything is put in perspective when things like this happen. Before today, us Gamecocks were just focused on beating some Auburn Tiger hiney this weekend. Now, we are just trying to figure out what was going through this 23 year old's head, why he felt he could not go on. He just came down to Columbia two weeks ago when we embarrassed Georgia and recieved a standing ovation at half time. Columbia had much love for this young man and why he felt he had to do what he did is a mystery.

My heart goes out to his young son and his family.

[Edited 9/21/10 16:58pm]

DesireeNevermind said:

I wonder what the heck was going on with him that he would kill himself and leave behind his small son? Somebody must know something. Makes no sense that he would commit suicide for no reason. Obviously he waited until he was alone. Just sad.

I don't know this player's mental situation or his life circumstances, but consdiering he was playing football, there have been a number of recent studies linking mental and other neurological disorders to head injuries sustained on the playing field. In some cases, the brains of players who died prematurely after their playing careers have ended or have committed suicide were examined by neurologists, and they have discovered significant levels of brain damage.

http://healthznews.com/tr...lines.html

Detectives: McKinley spoke of suicide

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado (AP)—Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley(notes), who is thought to have killed himself with a gunshot to the head, had made previous statements about committing suicide, according to a sheriff’s investigative report released Tuesday.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s report quoted one investigator as saying McKinley had been depressed over a knee surgery he had a month ago. “He had made statements while playing dominoes shortly after the surgery that he should just kill himself,” the officer reported. “No one believed he was serious.”

The report did not name the source of the investigator’s information.

The report also said McKinley had made statements about not knowing what he would do without football. It said McKinley had flown to South Carolina 10 days earlier to see his two-year-old son and had brought him back with him to Denver on Sunday.

Two female friends who were taking care of his son discovered McKinley’s body Monday and called 911. Detectives found McKinley’s body with a pillow over his head and a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol on top of the pillow. They also noted a strong odor of freshly burned marijuana, according to the report.

The report also said McKinley was taking 500 mg naproxen tablets, which is in a class of anti-inflammatories called NSAIDS, but listed no other medications.

Arapahoe County Coroner Michael Dobersen said Tuesday that McKinley died of a gunshot wound to the head. He said a preliminary investigation “suggests the wound to be self-inflicted.”

Brittany Boyd, the wife of former Broncos running back Cory Boyd(notes), who was McKinley’s best friend and college teammate, was one of the two women who were taking care of McKinley’s toddler son when they discovered McKinley had shot himself.

She told The Associated Press she didn’t know who told the investigators that McKinley had mentioned suicide, but added that she wouldn’t be surprised if nobody would have taken such a threat seriously.

“That’s not the type of thing he would say and if he did say it, that’s not the type of thing that you would take seriously coming from him.

“Because of his personality, because of who he is, nobody would have ever believed he would have done it.”

Boyd said she had picked up McKinley and his son at the Denver airport Sunday and nothing seemed amiss.

“He was just excited about having his son here. He showed no signs of depression, no signs of awkwardness. He was 100 percent himself,” Boyd said.

She did say, however, that she could tell over the last month that McKinley was having a hard time with not being able to play football or be around his teammates every day. But she said it wasn’t like he was struggling to the point anyone feared he would harm himself.

She said neither she nor her friend who was helping take care of the boy knew McKinley had a gun.

This is the third time in four years the Broncos have had to deal with the death of a teammate under stunning circumstances. Cornerback Darrent Williams, 24, was slain in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day 2007, and three months later running back Damien Nash, 24, collapsed and died after a charity basketball game in St. Louis.

This is scary. On a personal level.

You just never seem to know . . .

[Edited 9/22/10 8:43am]

SUPRMAN said:

This is scary. On a personal level.

You just never seem to know . . .

[Edited 9/22/10 8:43am]

I agree.

[Edited 9/22/10 9:20am]

728huey said:

DesireeNevermind said:

I wonder what the heck was going on with him that he would kill himself and leave behind his small son? Somebody must know something. Makes no sense that he would commit suicide for no reason. Obviously he waited until he was alone. Just sad.

I don't know this player's mental situation or his life circumstances, but consdiering he was playing football, there have been a number of recent studies linking mental and other neurological disorders to head injuries sustained on the playing field. In some cases, the brains of players who died prematurely after their playing careers have ended or have committed suicide were examined by neurologists, and they have discovered significant levels of brain damage.

http://healthznews.com/tr...lines.html

and I imagine if you're on some sort of psych med...the TBI related factors are worsened.

Traumatic Brain Injury is now being recognized as a causative factor for accelerated hormonal deficiencies. This can cause Psychological, Physiological, and Physical manifestations like; depression, anxiety, mood swings, memory loss, inability to concentrate, learning disabilities, sleep deprivation, increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes, loss of libido, menstrual irregularities, pre-mature menopause, obesity, loss of lean body mass, muscular weakness, and a number of other medically documented problems

see you never know what personal demons people are dealing with

be careful what you say to people

[Edited 9/25/10 16:15pm]