Former NFL player Lawrence Phillips may not have committed suicide. According to Phillips’ family attorney, there are suspicious findings that may discredit the idea of suicide.
Attorney Dan Chamberlin told USA Today that a racist note was found in his sock when his body was discovered in his cell. Chamberlin said the note wasn’t consistent with Phillip’s handwriting in previous letters he sent to his family. The note contained a racially charged joke.
That letter contained the message, “Did you hear the one about the football player who hung himself from the TV mount in his cell. What’s the black person do. They should just die.”
Phillips allegedly killed his cellmate one year ago. His death may have been a revenge killing. On Jan. 13, Phillips was found dead in his cell. He was only 40 years old. According to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton, Phillips was believed to have committed suicide. But that was before his attorney discovered the new evidence.
Phillips was serving 31 years in Kern Valley State Prison for driving his car into a field where teens were playing football, and also assaulting an ex-girlfriend on two separate occasions. But he was also charged with murder in April 2015 after his cellmate was found strangled to death in the cell they shared. Phillips was awaiting trial on the murder charge.
During the early ’90s, Phillips won back-to-back championships with the University of Nebraska and played for three NFL teams (St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco).
