NFL: Seau's death a suicide, medical examiner rules
Junior Seau's death has been ruled a suicide by the San Diego County medical examiner's office. Seau, 43, died Wednesday in his home in Oceanside, Calif.
Junior Seau's death has been ruled a suicide by the San Diego County medical examiner's office.
Seau, 43, died Wednesday in his home in Oceanside, Calif.
An autopsy Thursday confirmed that the former NFL linebacker died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the medical examiner's office said. The office said further details would be released in a final investigative report, which may take up to 90 days to complete.
Police Chief Frank McCoy said Seau's girlfriend reported finding him unconscious with a gunshot wound to the chest; lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful. A gun was found near him, McCoy said. Police said no suicide note was found and they didn't immediately know to whom the gun was registered.
Officials said they were awaiting a decision by the family on whether to turn over Seau's brain to unidentified outside researchers for study.
Sanders domestic scuffle. Police are seeking a new criminal charge against Deion Sanders in the case related to a scuffle last month between the Pro Football Hall of Famer and his wife.
Investigators with the police department in Sanders' hometown of Prosper, north of Dallas, have asked the Collin County District Attorney's Office to review their request for a criminal-mischief charge against the former NFL star. The charge is a misdemeanor.
The criminal complaint that police filed with prosecutors says their recommendation for the charge results from the department's investigation of an April 23 scuffle between Deion and Pilar Sanders at their palatial Prosper home.
Evidence 'strong'
A former U.S. attorney hired by the NFL to evaluate its investigation of the New Orleans Saints' bounty program said the evidence shows players received payments for hits on targeted opponents.
Mary Jo White said in a conference call that evidence in the league's investigation of the three-year pay-for-pain system provided "an unusually strong record" and came from people with "firsthand knowledge and corroborated by documentation."
When asked twice whether any players actually were paid for hits, White confirmed they were without going into specifics. She added that most of the money in the bounty scheme was provided by the players.
"Without them, there wouldn't have been a bounty program," she said.
Sugg injured
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs will have surgery for a partially torn Achilles tendon, an injury he insists will not keep him sidelined for the entire 2012 season. The injury occurred in Arizona while Suggs was practicing for a conditioning test, he said in a text message.