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Marion Barber III’s family is waiting to hear from the coroner in Frisco, Texas, as the former NFL running back was found dead in his apartment. According to Clarence Hill of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, it is believed that the running back had died days before his body was discovered.
Cops were called to the former NFL player’s apartment for a welfare check after neighbors reported water leaking from the apartment. Per Hill, foul play is not a factor in the death.
The late running back’s father, Marion Barber II, spoke to Hill and said that the coroner’s office is using tissue to delve deeper into a possible cause of death and that they’re ruling things out:
“They are just using tissue as they dig further into the cause of death. They are ruling out things. They haven’t seen any trauma, no foul substances in his body. His lungs were in working order. The heart and veins around the heart were good. They are ruling things out. Right now, we are just waiting.”
The running back played seven seasons in the NFL, the first six of which were with the Dallas Cowboys (2005-2010). He rushed for 4,358 yards and 47 touchdowns on 1,042 carries for Dallas.
For the 2011 season with the Chicago Bears, he played in 11 games, rushing for 422 yards and six touchdowns. He retired after the 2012 season.
The former running back would have turned 39 next week, which is the wedding date of his youngest brother Thomas, who chose his older brother’s birthday as a tribute.
His father said that the family would move forward with the wedding before a memorial service for him later this month in his hometown of Minneapolis.
Marion Barber and CTE
The former Cowboys running back had some mental health obstacles since retiring from the NFL. The family will not donate his brain for CTE research to coincide with Barber’s wishes.
His father told Hill that his son was particular about his brain not being donated in his will:
“He was real specific in his will that he didn’t want that. We are going to respect that. But in the condition his body was in, according to the examiner, that probably would have been a moot point because of the decomposition.”
