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Pat McAfee fought back tears as he spoke about the death of his former teammate and friend Vontae Davis live on his ESPN show Monday.
Davis was found dead in his grandmother’s house on Monday, and McAfee’s team revealed that they heard the news before it went on air, but chose not to tell the nation.
After Davis’ death at the young age of 35 emerged online, McAfee took five minutes to talk about his former Indianapolis Colts teammate.
His voice breaking, McAfee said, “It’s been an interesting vibe throughout the show because this morning we learned that a former teammate of ours, Vontae Davis, was found unconscious in his home.”
“Vontae was an incredibly cool guy, a good guy, a nice guy, an optimistic, energetic guy.”
Pat McAfee spoke to his ESPN audience just minutes after Vontae Davis’ death was announced.
At the end of McAfee’s monologue, the screen went black to pay tribute to his former teammate
After talking for a few minutes about Davis’ character, McAfee urged his television audience to “reach out to your people and tell them they are not alone.”
His co-host Darius Butler, also Davis’ former teammate, admitted it would be “hard to talk about,” and revealed that he found out the news this morning when his spot landed in Indianapolis.
“You never know what people are going through, what they’re dealing with,” Butler said. “It’s a tough time right now, I’ll definitely reach out to everyone, we talk a lot about the locker room and we’ll have those conversations.”
Davis’ cause of death has not yet been revealed, but the initial police report confirmed that no criminal act was involved.
A police statement said: “This morning, Davie Police Officers responded to 6051 SW 178th Avenue in reference to a medical call. The house attendant called officers to the residence, who found the homeowner deceased.
“We can confirm that the deceased individual is Vontae Davis, age 35. Preliminary information suggests there is no foul play.” The investigation remains active.’
His death comes a year after Davis was found curled up asleep on the side of a road after crashing his Tesla in South Florida.
Davis is the younger brother of Super Bowl winner Vernon. His childhood friend, Bobby Maze, confirmed his death in an emotional Facebook statement.
“To my childhood friend and my brother Vontae Davis, rest in peace,” Maze wrote. ‘There are no words that can explain how I feel right now.
‘You were one of a kind and very full of life. Life will never be the same without my brother. Those FaceTime calls, etc. Damn, I wish we could have one more conversation. You beat the odds, you did it, you did it your way, it just wasn’t supposed to end like this.’
Former Davis college football coach Chester Frazier also paid tribute to X.
‘We lost a great today!!!’ Frazier said. ‘RIP TO @vontaedavis man nothing but good memories of that guy at school!!’
Davis was the 25th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft and played until 2018, when he abruptly retired in the middle of a Bills game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In November of last year, Davis reached a plea deal with prosecutors in Broward County, Florida, after driving his vehicle under the influence of alcohol. According to court documents, Davis and his attorneys agreed not to contest the reckless driving charge and were sentenced to 12 months of probation.