Simon Shanks (October 16, 1971 – January 5, 2006) was a
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
player for the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...
in 1995. An alumnus of
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...
, he played
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...
in his sole professional season, leading the Cardinals defense with 27 tackles. Shanks was killed in a robbery at his home in
Phoenix on January 5, 2006. Three men approached Shanks and his friend in his garage working out. His wife was locked in the bathroom of the house while the men beat Shanks and his friend. They were both shot, with Shanks being shot fatally. His other friend was shot in the neck, surviving.
References
External links
Simon Shanks statistics''CBS article covering Shanks' death
1971 births
2006 deaths
2006 murders in the United States
American football linebackers
American murder victims
Arizona Cardinals players
Coahoma Tigers football players
Tennessee State Tigers football players
People murdered in Arizona
Deaths by firearm in Arizona
Players of American football from Mississippi
People from Laurel, Mississippi
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