Former NFL cornerback Alphonso Smith Jr. has died at 40, according to local law enforcement and the medical examiner, who said he committed suicide, per TMZ. Wake Forest University confirmed his death on Thursday.
Smith’s death came after he posted a troubling message on Facebook. In it, he wrote, “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.”
He also referenced childhood trauma in another passage, saying, “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!”
On Wednesday afternoon, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies were called to a housing community in Pahokee about a suicide attempt. Smith was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
The news has also put a painful spotlight on the Denver Broncos’ 2009 draft class. Smith is the second player from that group to die by suicide. Wide receiver Kenny McKinley previously took his own life on Sept. 21, 2010, due to debt and gambling problems.
Smith’s football roots were in Pahokee, where he starred at Pahokee High School and helped lead the team to the Class 2B state championship in 2003 as a dual-threat quarterback and cornerback. He went on to play at Wake Forest under Jim Grobe, where he set the ACC record with 21 career interceptions, earned consensus All-American honors in 2008 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2021.
The Broncos selected Smith in the second round in 2009 after trading away their 2010 first-round pick. That move drew heavy criticism and later became part of the scrutiny surrounding coach Josh McDaniels, who was fired.
Smith spent one season in Denver before being traded to the Detroit Lions on Sept. 4, 2010.
He played 22 games over two seasons with Detroit, including 11 starts, and finished as the team’s leading interceptor. His NFL career ended after the 2012 season.
After his playing days, Smith moved into coaching at Pahokee High School. He was fired in November 2015 amid allegations of inappropriate conduct, and in July 2016 he was charged with domestic battery involving his ex-girlfriend.
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