Riddick Thurston Parker Jr. (November 20, 1972 – August 19, 2022) 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 who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

from 1997 to 2003. Parker played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

Early life

Parker was born in

Emporia, Virginia Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been the county seat of Greensville County since 1791. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

, on November 20, 1972. He attended Southampton High School in nearby

Courtland, Virginia Courtland is an incorporated town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Southampton County, Virginia, Southampton County. History Native Americans of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway), and Meherrin Indian Tribe, Meher ...

, where he played for its football team and received all-state honors in 1989. He then studied history and communications at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1994. He played for the

, joining as a scholarship

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

and ultimately

lettering Lettering or Lettering design is an act or result of artfully drawing letters, instead of writing them simply. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attent ...

in all four years. Undrafted 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 ...

, Parker signed as a rookie free agent with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, but was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...

prior to the start of the 1995 season. He then played for the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

for the 1996 season, before signing with the

in July of that same year.

Professional career

Parker made his NFL debut with the Seahawks on August 31, 1997, at the age of 25, in a 41–3 loss against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. During his rookie season, he served as the team's reserve

, playing in 12 games and recording three

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

. He then posted seven tackles and one

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

in 8 games during the 1998 season, having fended off a challenge from Carl Hansen for the franchise's number 4

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. Regarded as small for a player in his position, Parker increased his weight from to in 1999. He subsequently had a breakthrough year, starting all 16 games for the Seahawks during the 2000 season and recording a career-best 48 tackles. In the ninth game of the season on October 29, 2000, he made a career-high nine tackles in a 24–19 loss to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. Parker became a free agent after the 2000 season and signed with the

on June 5 of the following year. He won his only Super Bowl ring when the Patriots emerged victorious in the

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. However, he did not play in the championship game. Parker spent his last two years in the NFL with the

. He signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

on August 7, 2004, but retired after being released the following month.

Later life

After retiring from professional football, Parker worked as a financial adviser with

Legg Mason Legg Mason, Inc. was an American investment management and asset management firm headquartered in Baltimore, founded in 1899 and acquired by Franklin Templeton Investments as of July 2020. As of December 31, 2019, the company had $730.8 billion i ...

. He earned a graduate certificate in school administration and supervision from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, before obtaining a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from

Walden University Walden University is a private for-profit online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and specialist degrees. The university is owned by Adtalem Global Education, which purchased the un ...

. He was subsequently employed as an education consultant working on literacy development and graduation pathway programs for

Baltimore City Public Schools Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore Ci ...

, before becoming an assistant principal at Armstrong High School. Parker was promoted to principal of

George Wythe High School George Wythe High School may refer to: * George Wythe High School (Wytheville, Virginia), part of Wythe County Public Schools in Wythe County, Virginia, U.S. * Richmond High School for the Arts, part of Richmond Public Schools in Richmond, Vir ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, during the summer of 2021. He died suddenly while bicycling, on the morning of August 19, 2022, in

Chesterfield, Virginia Chesterfield Court House is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place that is the county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 cen ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Riddick 1972 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen People from Emporia, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football defensive linemen North Carolina Tar Heels football players San Diego Chargers players Seattle Seahawks players New England Patriots players Baltimore Ravens players San Francisco 49ers players Rhein Fire players American school administrators