Fox News reports that Antonio Dennard, the former National Football League (NFL) player, died at the age of 32.
Dennard is reported to have died as a result of a shooting.
What we know
The incident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning, Oct. 16, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The specific location is the parking lot of the Legends bar and restaurant in Muhlenberg Township.
Not many details about the shooting have been provided thus far.
It appears that, on that morning, the police arrived to find that Dennard had been shot. He was then taken to a nearby hospital where, around 3:15 a.m., he was pronounced dead.
The death has been ruled a homicide by authorities, and it is currently being investigated by the Muhlenberg Township police and the Berks County district attorney. An autopsy is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
But, no other details have been provided. It is neither clear if the police have a suspect or suspects nor what the motivation behind the shooting could have been.
Remembering Dennard
Dennard played football for Langston University, in Oklahoma, before making it to the NFL. He was a defensive player, a cornerback. At Langston, he racked up 80 tackles and 8 interceptions.
During his career in the NFL, Dennard played for three different teams: the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Green Bay Packers.
It was the Jaguars who, in 2012, signed Dennard as a free agent out of Langston University. The following year, Dennard would play for the Packers, and then, he would go to the Giants before, once again, heading back to the Packers.
After the NFL, Dennard played, from 2015 to 2017, for the Arena Football League’s (AFL) Arizona Rattlers. And, after that – after Dennard decided to stop playing football – he went on to coach football, helping younger players to get better at the game.
Following the news of Dennard’s passing, Brandon Roberts, his former coach at Langston, put out a statement, revealing that he “would talk to the NFL Scouts about how great of a person [Dennard was] and how much of a stand-up kid [he was].”