Keith McCants has passed away at 53. McCants, a famed linebacker and defensive end who played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, was drafted fourth overall in the 1990 NFL draft, and played in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1990-92), Houston Oilers (1993-94), and Arizona Cardinals (1994-95). As per Curt Anderson of The Associated Press, McCants was found dead at his home Thursday, with authorities suspecting a drug overdose:
Former NFL player Keith McCants was found dead Thursday at his home in Florida after a suspected drug overdose, investigators said. He was 53.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said in an email that deputies were called to a St. Petersburg home about 5:10 a.m. Thursday. McCants was dead inside the house, where others also apparently lived who made the 911 call.
“It appears it was a drug overdose, but we are awaiting confirmation from the medical examiner’s office,” sheriff’s spokesperson Amanda Sinni said. “This is still an open investigation.”
Following his NFL career, McCants went on to become the first Black marine police officer in Alabama at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. But he ran into issues with drugs, and into arrests, and also faced financial issues. He was one of the athletes featured in ESPN’s 2012 30 for 30 “Broke,” and there and elsewhere, including in a 2015 Florida Today piece, he spoke about how he lost his money:
“What do you do with that money? I’ll tell you what I did with that money. I lost everything.”
“Where did it all go?” [interviewer Lee] Cowan asked.
“Gave it away.”
“So who did you end up giving money to? Friends? Family?”
“Everybody. Anybody who asked. I was from Mobile, Alabama, I’m green. I’m gullible. I didn’t know no better.”
He also faced issues with painkiller usage, and with the effects of that on his liver, as he told Vice Sports in 2015:
Despite those struggles, and ongoing pain from the estimated 30-plus surgeries he had over the years, McCants wound up making quite a few notable media appearances across HuffPost Live, Highly Questionable, The Adam Carolla Show, and more. And he also wound up hosting a sports talk show in Tampa thanks to a friendship with real estate developer Robert Blackmon (also a candidate for mayor of St. Petersburg). Here’s what Craig Stephenson wrote on that last year in an in-depth feature on McCants:
Nevertheless, McCants’ life has taken a positive turn in recent months. He’s become close friends with Robert Blackmon, a successful south Florida real estate developer who is currently a St. Petersburg city councilman.
Blackmon helped McCants put together and market his autobiography, which he self-published in 2018. Blackmon’s friend Barry Edwards has devoted one hour each week (Fridays from 2-3 p.m. Eastern) of his daily political talk show on Tampa’s WWBA 820-AM radio into a sports program featuring McCants.
“It’s going pretty well,” said McCants, who has featured guests such as NFL greats Herschel Walker and Emmitt Smith and former Alabama stars such as Bennett and George Teague on the program. “It feels good talking to those guys, seeing how they view me, how I viewed them, getting a chance to open up. It’s been real nice.”
Blackmon was one of the people touched by McCants’ passing. Here’s the Facebook post he put up about McCants:
Here are some of the other tributes to McCants from Twitter:
Keith McCants carried a lot of pain, but there was a really beautiful soul behind it. You can see it in his smile. He was working his way back. He fought his demons hard daily. Completely crushed by the news of his passing today. pic.twitter.com/UFLsGTLrqA
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 3, 2021
Keith was such a great athlete. Devastated that he and Coach Fuller, KT and Coach Perkins are gone so recently and DT before them. Keith fought a long fight with his demons but was, deep down, a good soul. https://t.co/wRQnSgQWzV
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) September 2, 2021
My heart Breaks to hear the news of the passing of Keith McCants. I was fortunate enough to have played with Keith on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I know Keith fell on hard times after Football, but gone way to early & tough to hold back tears for a great guy, that was only 53..Damn
— Pete Najarian (@petenajarian) September 2, 2021
Our heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Keith McCants. The Mobile, AL native (Murphy HS) was a 1st Rd, 4 overall pick by the @Buccaneers in the 1990 NFL Draft. We are saddened to hear the news of his passing. 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/ShznGQk3XC
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) September 2, 2021
Our thoughts go out to McCants’ family and friends.
[The Associated Press, AL.com</a]; image from a 2015 New York Times video on McCants]
