Former NFL defender Phillip Adams, who is suspected of a shooting in South Carolina that killed five people, including a beloved doctor, shocked those who knew him with his actions.
York County officials identified Adams on Wednesday night as the man behind the gruesome racketeering at Rock Hill, but have not yet come up with a motive. Police said Adams turned the gun on himself, and authorities who negotiated with him to try to get him out of a house where he was hole-in-one found his body early Thursday.
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Those who knew Adams described him as ‘lost without football’. Adams was a star-defending fullback for South Carolina before being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round in 2010. He suffered a gruesome ankle injury in his rookie season and would bounce in the league until 2015.
Phillip Adams during a turn at the New England Patriots.
(Getty Images)
“He suffered an injury in his freshman year,” Scott Casterline, an Adams agent, told the Associated Press. “Some teams wrote him off and he had the stigma of a man who got hurt. His ability was better than a man who jumped around a lot. All that bothered him. He had (six) years, a “Good career, but he felt he had more. It was hard for him to walk away from the game, especially a guy as dedicated as he is.”
Casterline said Adams tended to cut off the world when he was hurt.
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“We encouraged him to explore all his disability options, and he would not do that. He would isolate him, but that was who he was. So it was not a big problem. I knew he was hurting. had and missed football but he did not want I will not receive tips offered to him.He said he would do it but he did not.I felt he was lost without football, somewhat depressed but he was really hard to follow because he would isolate, “he said.
Kevin Smith, a former Dallas Cowboys cornerback, trained Adams in the run-up to the 2010 draft. Smith and Casterline told the Associated Press that Adams opened a smoothie shop before the coronavirus pandemic began and that he did not drink or drink drugs, but quickly drove cars.
“I used to have to tell him you don’t have to do that much,” Smith said. ‘I would tell him it’s about maintaining your body because he wants to exercise three times a day.
Adams began his career with the 49ers.
(AP)
“It’s just shocking. Recently we were the only communication through Instagram and he was very short. He did not say much. It was just him. He was such a good kid. I did not see any mental problems beyond the fact that she pride was a double-edged sword. What drove him, all the hard work, also worked against him. “
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Along with the ankle injury, Adams suffered two concussions during his NFL career. Whether he had the long-term consequences of the injuries was not clear. He would not be eligible for Tests as part of a broad settlement between the league and former players over such injuries, as he had not yet retired by 2014. It’s unclear whether Adams used the NFL and NFL Players’ Association’s post-career programs. for physical and mental care.
“It’s so different from him,” Casterline said. “Of course he did not have to be in his mind. All of us who knew Phillip shook our heads. He ran away from the game. I tried to get him to come to Texas. I’m going to get him a job, but he would not leave South Carolina because he had a son.He was a good father.To see Phillip shoot two children is not him.I can not understand it.It’s devastating for the victims and the families. ‘
Allison Hope, a neighbor of the Adams, said she could not process what happened.
“I feel bad for him, because if it was mental or something was going on in his life or whatever, you know, he needed help, and that’s the sad part,” she said.
Alonzo Adams, the father of Phillip Adams, told WCNC-TV he thought ‘football confused him’.
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York County officials did not have to find a motive Thursday. They said evidence at the shooting scene indicated that Adams was the culprit, but did not specifically touch on what evidence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.