Richard Collier
Encyclopedia
Richard Bernard Collier (born October 23, 1981 in Shreveport, Louisiana
) is a former professional American football
player. He played offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars
of the National Football League
(NFL) from 2006–2008, until a shooting incident left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his football career.
Collier played college football
for the Valdosta State University
Blazers
. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006 as an undrafted free agent, and played two seasons for the team. His career was cut short after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in early September 2008. As a result he was left paralyzed and with his left leg amputated.
, Louisiana
. He played football at Northwood High School, where he graduated in 2001. Poor grades prevented him from attending college, and he spent the next two years working in the produce section of a local Wal-Mart
. Eventually, he decided to give football and college another try, and enrolled at Tyler Junior College
in Texas. There he soon improved both his grades and his physical fitness, and made the Tyler football team's starting lineup. In 2004 he transferred to Valdosta State University
in Georgia
, where he played for the Valdosta State Blazers football
team. The team won the 2004 NCAA Division II National Football Championship
, and Collier received All-America
honors in 2005, his senior year.
, Collier was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars
as an undrafted free agent on April 30. He made the final roster following the preseason and went on to play in four games his rookie season, all in a reserve role. He was inactive for the first 12 games of the 2007 season. He was suspended for two games and fined by Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio
after being arrested for driving under the influence
on November 3. Not wanting to bring additional negative publicity to the team and threaten a potential chance at making the starting lineup, he pled no contest to all charges at the subsequent hearing and made a public vow to keep himself out of trouble. He appeared in the team's final four games of the season and made his first career start in the regular season finale against the Houston Texans
on December 30.
In May 2008, the Jaguars signed Collier to a contract extension. That season he played on all four of the Jaguars' preseason games in a reserve role.
Earlier in the night Collier and Pettway had been at the Jacksonville nightclub Square One, where they met up with two women, Collier's former girlfriend and her sister, as well as fellow Jaguars player Clint Ingram
. After midnight Ingram went home and Collier and Pettway drove the women to their apartment in Riverside. They were waiting for them in the car when they were attacked from behind in what some media reports called an "ambush".
Two days after the shooting, the Jaguars placed Collier on the non-football injury reserve list. Later that month, when the extent of his injuries were revealed, it was confirmed that his football career was over.
One man, Tyrone Hartsfield, was arrested and charged with attempted murder
. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
believed the shooting was in retaliation for an altercation the two men had had months earlier; Hartsfield had filed a report with the police in April after Collier had punched him in a scuffle at another nightclub. The prosecution's case involved testimony from a friend of Hartsfield's, who said he had been with Hartsfield the night of the shooting and later secretly recorded a conversation with him for the police. Largely on the strength of this testimony the jury found Hartsfield guilty in November 2009; he was subsequently sentenced to life in prison
.
by his Jacksonville teammates.
In 2010 Collier featured in the documentary film
The 904, which discusses Jacksonville's murder rate and the city's attempts to reduce it.
Collier married his long-time girlfriend Chandra Baker in November 2010. With the aid of a prosthetic limb and a specially designed body brace, he was able to stand for the ceremony.
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
) is a former professional American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) from 2006–2008, until a shooting incident left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his football career.
Collier played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University, also referred to as VSU, or Valdosta State, is an American public university and is one of the two regional universities in the University System of Georgia. Valdosta State is located on a campus at the heart of the city of Valdosta...
Blazers
Valdosta State Blazers football
The Valdosta State football team represents Valdosta State University in football. The Blazers are a member of the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II, and are currently a top 10 team. Valdosta State University has had a football team since 1981. The Blazers play in Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in...
. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006 as an undrafted free agent, and played two seasons for the team. His career was cut short after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in early September 2008. As a result he was left paralyzed and with his left leg amputated.
Early life
Collier was born and raised in ShreveportShreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He played football at Northwood High School, where he graduated in 2001. Poor grades prevented him from attending college, and he spent the next two years working in the produce section of a local Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
. Eventually, he decided to give football and college another try, and enrolled at Tyler Junior College
Tyler Junior College
Tyler Junior College is a two-year community college in Tyler, Texas, United States. TJC is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,000 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enrollments annually. Its West Campus includes...
in Texas. There he soon improved both his grades and his physical fitness, and made the Tyler football team's starting lineup. In 2004 he transferred to Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University, also referred to as VSU, or Valdosta State, is an American public university and is one of the two regional universities in the University System of Georgia. Valdosta State is located on a campus at the heart of the city of Valdosta...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where he played for the Valdosta State Blazers football
Valdosta State Blazers football
The Valdosta State football team represents Valdosta State University in football. The Blazers are a member of the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II, and are currently a top 10 team. Valdosta State University has had a football team since 1981. The Blazers play in Bazemore–Hyder Stadium in...
team. The team won the 2004 NCAA Division II National Football Championship
NCAA Division II national football championship
The NCAA Division II National Football Championship began in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the NCAA College Division and a poll determined the final champion....
, and Collier received All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
honors in 2005, his senior year.
Professional career
Following the 2006 NFL Draft2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
, Collier was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as an undrafted free agent on April 30. He made the final roster following the preseason and went on to play in four games his rookie season, all in a reserve role. He was inactive for the first 12 games of the 2007 season. He was suspended for two games and fined by Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio is an American football coach and former player. Del Rio played both football and baseball for the University of Southern California Trojans, and then spent eleven years playing linebacker in the National Football League . He retired from playing in 1996 and went into coaching,...
after being arrested for driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
on November 3. Not wanting to bring additional negative publicity to the team and threaten a potential chance at making the starting lineup, he pled no contest to all charges at the subsequent hearing and made a public vow to keep himself out of trouble. He appeared in the team's final four games of the season and made his first career start in the regular season finale against the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on December 30.
In May 2008, the Jaguars signed Collier to a contract extension. That season he played on all four of the Jaguars' preseason games in a reserve role.
Shooting
On September 2, 2008, Collier was shot and critically wounded outside an apartment building in Jacksonville's Riverside neighborhood. Collier was in the passenger seat of a car driven by his former Jacksonville teammate Kenny Pettway at the time of the attack; it was later revealed that he had suffered 14 gunshot wounds and was left paralyzed from the waist down. A blood clot later caused the amputation of his left leg above the knee. Pettway, who had been in the driver's seat, was unharmed.Earlier in the night Collier and Pettway had been at the Jacksonville nightclub Square One, where they met up with two women, Collier's former girlfriend and her sister, as well as fellow Jaguars player Clint Ingram
Clint Ingram
Clint Ingram is a professional American football linebacker who is currently a free agent of the National Football League He played college football for the University of Oklahoma Sooners, and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft.-Early life:Ingram was...
. After midnight Ingram went home and Collier and Pettway drove the women to their apartment in Riverside. They were waiting for them in the car when they were attacked from behind in what some media reports called an "ambush".
Two days after the shooting, the Jaguars placed Collier on the non-football injury reserve list. Later that month, when the extent of his injuries were revealed, it was confirmed that his football career was over.
One man, Tyrone Hartsfield, was arrested and charged with attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, United States...
believed the shooting was in retaliation for an altercation the two men had had months earlier; Hartsfield had filed a report with the police in April after Collier had punched him in a scuffle at another nightclub. The prosecution's case involved testimony from a friend of Hartsfield's, who said he had been with Hartsfield the night of the shooting and later secretly recorded a conversation with him for the police. Largely on the strength of this testimony the jury found Hartsfield guilty in November 2009; he was subsequently sentenced to life in prison
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
.
Later life
In 2009, one year after the shooting, Collier was unanimously elected to receive the Ed Block Courage AwardEd Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...
by his Jacksonville teammates.
In 2010 Collier featured in the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The 904, which discusses Jacksonville's murder rate and the city's attempts to reduce it.
Collier married his long-time girlfriend Chandra Baker in November 2010. With the aid of a prosthetic limb and a specially designed body brace, he was able to stand for the ceremony.