user: Rashaan Salaam, ex-Bears RB and Heisman Trophy winner, dead at 42

Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner and one of the most decorated football players in the University of Colorado football program’s history, was found dead in a Boulder, Colo. park Monday, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said in a press release.

According to the Boulder County coroner Emma Hall, Salaam died at Eben G. Fine Park.

“At this point the decedent has been positively identified as Rashaan Salaam of Superior, Colorado. An autopsy will be conducted and the cause and manner of death are pending further investigation,” said the Boulder County Coroner in a release Tuesday.

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A source told the Boulder Daily Camera, however, that Salaam's death is being probed as a suspected suicide.

A man who only identified himself as Hakim at the listed San Diego home of Salaam’s parents told the Daily News the family was preparing to travel to Denver in the wake of the tragic news.

“We don’t have anything, just basic information,” the man said Tuesday. “We’re getting organized to go to Denver.” Salaam’s father, Teddy Washington, had a brief NFL career with the Bengals.

Salaam played three seasons for the Colorado Buffaloes under head coach Bill McCartney, and in his junior year, he rushed for 2,055 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. At the time, he was the fourth player in collegiate history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.

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Salaam finished his collegiate career with 3,057 rushing yards. In that 1994 Buffaloes’ season, Salaam helped the team to an 11-1 record before Colorado beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, 41-24.

"He was very coachable," McCartney said, according to the Univ. of Colorado’s website. "He had a happy heart. I loved being around him. He didn't take himself too seriously, and he always credited those around him, especially his offensive line. What I liked about him is that he had a sparkle in his eye. He was upbeat and positive."

The Buffaloes tweeted out a tribute message to Salaam Tuesday afternoon: "We're minus one true Buffalo today."

"The Buff Family has lost an outstanding young man and a great Buff today," Colorado athletic director Rick George said in a statement. "We are heartbroken for Rashaan and his family and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this very difficult time."

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The Bears selected him in the first round of the 1995 draft (the 21st pick overall). He rushed for 1,074 yards and scored 10 TDs his rookie season, but his stats dipped precipitously the next two years. He finished his career in 1999, playing in only two games for the Browns.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rashaan Salaam's family, friends, and former teammates," the Bears tweeted.

After playing in the NFL, Salaam marketed mixed martial arts in China, according to a 2012 Chicago Tribune profile. In that same Tribune report, Salaam said that his partying ways and marijuana use helped curtail what once seemed like a bright pro football career.

“I had no discipline. I had all the talent in the world," Salaam told the Chicago Tribune in 2012. "You know, great body, great genes. But I had no work ethic and I had no discipline. The better you get, the harder you have to work. The better I got, the lazier I got. Work on your game. I didn't realize coming up how much work you had to put in once you got to the NFL. It's a whole different lifestyle. You have to change the way you live. You have to change who you hang out with. You have to totally get focused on your game. You have the athletic ability, but if you don't put the work behind it, nothing will come from it."

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assistant: Heisman trophy winner and former NFL running back Rashaan Salaam has died at the age of 42.