NFL legend Chris Smith died aged 31 hours after playing for the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons.
The ex- Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns ace died shortly after the 30-12 win over the St Louis Battlehawks. Smith’s death was confirmed by his old high school, West Rowan, based in North Carolina, but the cause of death is yet to be announced. “Rest in Peace to a West Rowan Legend,” The school posted on Twitter. “The impact he had on those around him will be remembered forever!”
Defensive End Smith only joined the Dragons in March of this year after spending eight seasons in the NFL playing for seven different teams. The 2014 NFL draftee's death comes just four years on from the tragic death of his partner, the mother of his daughter, Petara Cordero.
Cordero was killed on a highway in Cleveland in 2019 after Smith’s Lamborghini suffered a tire malfunction and hit the median. Smith’s partner exited the car and was standing at the side of the road when another vehicle smashed into the side of theirs.
A 47-year-old woman later admitted to drinking, which resulted in the death of 26-year-old Cordero, who had given birth to their first child, a daughter called Haven Harris, a month earlier.
And while an admission to the police of drinking was made by the woman involved, she was not charged because she was not illegally intoxicated or speeding when the crash occurred. Admirably, a week after her death, Smith returned to the field to play against the New York Jets.
Tributes have poured in for Smith from across the US sports world. “Rest in paradise Chris Smith,” Browns star David Njoku said. “Hometown hero and a brother to everyone. Such a kind soul. This is Heartbreaking.”
Jerry Mitchell, a cornerback who played with Smith in college, tweeted: “RIP Chris Smith, Your smile lit up the room and you spread positivity everywhere you went. You always had a passion for working hard, chasing your dreams, and keeping God first!”
“My brother I was just thinking how proud I was of you chasing your dreams in the XFL you made a whole room laugh when you laughed you always found a way to make any situation positive RIH Smitty,” nine–season NFL vet Roy Miller III added.
