Former NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore passed away recently due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Moore out of Purdue and saw varying levels of success before trading him to the Atlanta Falcons, who then finished his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Moore had a mentor on the Cardinals in A.J. Green, and Green recently wrote a letter in Moore's memory.
Former NFL wide receiver A.J. Green revealed in an emotional letter that he penned in Rondale Moore's memory in The Player's Tribune. In the letter, Green revealed that just before he passed, they were texting back and forth about where to go in Turks and Caicos with Moore's family. Moore gave Green an update on his injury rehab and workout, and then Moore and Green went back and forth about Rolexes.
In the texts, one gets the feeling that nothing was wrong or out of the ordinary for Moore, and he did not come off as revealing anything to Green himself.
“Those conversations were Thursday and Friday, and I got back the following Tuesday,” Green wrote. “And then it was that very next weekend, I’d just taken the dog out, I’m sitting on the couch watching college hoops — and I get a text from someone in football who’s friendly with both Rondale and me. And it only says, ‘I want you to know first before the news gets out. Rondale took his own life.'
“I call this dude right up, and I’m like, ‘No way. No way that’s true. They must have the story mixed up.' And he says, ‘It’s confirmed. They found him in the garage.' And then, before I can even process those words, suddenly I’m seeing posts all over social media.”
Green went on to say that, in his eyes, he saw Moore as a kid, and he was shocked by what happened. However, he does think that Moore had mental health issues. He was dealing with two major injuries, rehabs, time away, and the uncertainty of whether he would be able to earn an NFL check again. The mental health side of being in the NFL is something that other veterans have called the league out about, too.
