Overview
- Local deputies in Pahokee, Florida, responded to a reported suicide attempt and took Smith to a hospital, where he died on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
- The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Smith’s death to the Denver Post while several outlets, citing sources and law enforcement, reported he died by suicide.
- Hours before his death, Smith posted a long Facebook message in which he apologized, referenced fighting ‘‘demons,’’ and alluded to childhood abuse; that post circulated widely and drove initial coverage.
- Smith was a Wake Forest standout who set the ACC career interceptions record, played four NFL seasons with the Broncos and Lions, and was later inducted into Wake Forest’s hall of fame.
- Reporting notes past off-field incidents including removal as Pahokee’s coach over misconduct allegations and a 2016 domestic-battery charge, and no public family statement or full official inquest details have been released yet.