Denver Broncos reserve tailback Damien Nash collapsed and died Saturday night after an appearance in a charity basketball game at Riverview Gardens Highschool.
The proceeds of the event were to benefit the Darris Nash Find A Heart Foundation, which raises money for heart transplant research. The foundation was created last month after Darris Nash, 25, the older brother of Damien Nash, received a heart transplant.
Details of the incident were not yet available, and an official with the St. Louis police said an investigation was in its “very earliest” stages.
A former University of Missouri standout, Nash entered the NFL as a fifth-round choice of the Tennessee Titans in 2005. He played three games with the Titans as a rookie, and then signed with Denver as a free agent last August. In his one season in Denver, he appeared in three games, rushing 18 times for 66 yards.
“The Denver Broncos organization is once again struck with profound sadness over the tragic loss of one of our players,” team owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement. “This is a tremendous tragedy and our hearts go out to the entire Nash family.”
Nash is the second Broncos’ player to die since the end of the 2006 season. Two-year veteran cornerback Darrent Williams was shot to death in a limousine after leaving a Denver-area nightclub Jan. 1.
