Former NFL player Alphonso Smith Jr. died by suicide after making a shocking confession on Facebook.
Sources tell TMZ Sports the former NFL cornerback died by suicide on Wednesday at a housing community in Florida. He was 40.
Smith’s final Facebook post highlighted his troubling past history that led him to exploit innocent children for his own pleasure.
“I am a COWARD! A HUGE COWARD!” he wrote.
He added: “Do not cry for me! I tried everything in my power to fight the demons behind the ones that someone put into ME! I did not want to be that WAY! I know I have disappointed so many folks. This is a DEMON in me! But not only me! It’s EVERYONE! I have HURT so many! I needed help & did not get it!”
Smith said an older woman touched him when he was a boy. “As a result guys, I did the same onto others,” he wrote.
Smith asked for forgiveness and prayers for all of his victims.
The former standout at Wake Forest was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2009. He was traded to the Detroit Lions a year later. Smith played 3 seasons in Detroit before ending his career in 2012.