Bronzell LaJames Miller (October 12, 1971 – December 21, 2013) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and entertainer. As a football player he played for the University of Utah in college and then a series of professional teams after being selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in 1995. He spent a season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1996, the Calgary Stampeders from 1997 to 2001 and ending with the Los Angeles Avengers of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) in 2001. As an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

he appeared in feature films including '' Bringing Down the House'', '' Mr. 3000'', ''Slow'', '' The Luck of the Irish'', as well as television shows and commercials. He also worked as a print

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

for the YMCA of Greater New York and performed voice work for Milwaukee Radio Group.

College career

A two-sport athlete, Miller played both

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and

from 1990 to 1992 at Eastern Arizona Junior College and

Highline Community College Highline College is a public community college in Des Moines, Washington. Highline was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County, Washington. The main campus covers . , there were approximately 17,000 students and 350,000 alu ...

. He then was given a full

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, where he played college football for the

Utes Utes may refer to: *Ute people, indigenous people of North America *Students of the University of Utah *Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Uta ...

in 1993–1994. Miller received several honors and played in the

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

and the

Freedom Bowl The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. The bowl frequently invited a team from the Western Athletic Conference to compete against an at-large opp ...

. Miller participated in the Utes' November 19, 1994, win over

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Professional career

Miller was selected in the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

by the

as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. During the season, he left the Rams to join the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. Following his NFL years, Miller joined the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, where he led his team to the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

Championship in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

playing

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Miller retired from professional football in 2001, after a series of back and ankle injuries.

Personal life

In 1991 while both attending the University of Utah, Bronzell met and married his first wife Marnie Oliver. They had 3 children Bronzell Jr., Breezell (engaged to Michael Rees) and Elijah (engaged to Lexy Stockton). He also had a step son Stetson. In 1999 the couple divorced and Bronzell moved to Minnesota where he met and married his second wife Jane Krohn in 2000. They were married for 10 years and had 5 children. Breonne, Isaiah, Aaliyah, Arielle and Isaac. Bronzell also has an older daughter Alesha from a college relationship. In July 2010, Bronzell was diagnosed with 3rd stage multiple myeloma. He underwent chemo, radiation, bone marrow transplants and several other treatments in an attempt to prolong his life. In December 2013 he returned to Utah with his first wife and children to receive hospice care for end stage cancer. Miller died at home with family on December 21, 2013, at the age of 42.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Bronzell 1971 births 2013 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States American football linebackers American football defensive ends Utah Utes football players St. Louis Rams players Amsterdam Admirals players Jacksonville Jaguars players Calgary Stampeders players Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters football players American male voice actors Players of American football from Seattle Male models from Washington (state) Deaths from cancer in Utah