Lawrence Phillips found dead in prison at age 40

[JJ Husker]

RIP LP. Greatest college RB I ever saw play the game. Hopefully he has now found the peace he could never find on this earth.

 

[krc1995]

This what a broken and damaged family produces . . .

Not necessarily. Plenty of people from broken and damaged families don't end up becoming murderers.

it absolutely does not help and it's not a pro-social behavior. Run any bad statistic on anything bad(education, crime, poverty, etc) and at the heart of these stats are broken or never formed families.

 

[Hunter94]

And let's get real. Phillips got a free education including tutoring and whatever help he needed, anger management counseling, and a multi-million dollar contract, as well as personal help from people like Osborne, Vermeil, and Darlington. What do you think would've worked for him?

Not sure. Might have been too late by that point. He was going to sabotage anything good that came his way, because he couldn't trust anything good.

And a million dollar contract is dangerous to a guy like that.

No amount of anything can make up for the unconditional love of being raised in a family. This is what a broken and damaged family produces and I fully blame his mother.

wow, you know that much personally about LP and his bio?? that's a strong statement for a message board.

 

[Red Five]

Sad story all around. He was just never able to out run his demons in life.

 

[Red Five]

Omaha.com has posted an excerpt from the book about the mid-90s Huskers, and it's from the chapter about Lawrence. http://www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/phillips-was-explosive-on-field-but-deep-anger-smoldered-inside/article_53d51f44-ba27-11e5-a8e1-23ec7fb8f3a4.html

It's a pretty cool read, as it touches his high school days, his recruitment to NU, and his time at NU before the Kate McEwen incident.

That's a great read. I just came here to see if it was posted yet. Talks about his troubled youth in LA, how he busted he a$$ to get eligible, what his teammates thought of him, and a few of his ups and downs in Lincoln pre-McEwen

 

[mnhusker]

For those who never had the pleasure of seeing LP in a Husker uniform.

LP and Tommy Frazier in the same backfield are amazing. What an incredible duo to have in the backfield, these teams played a such a high level it is hard to appreciate. By the way the music selection for the video is by a total idiot considering the problems LP had.

 

[Bowfin]

What do you think would've worked for him?

Sometimes, the timing of the help is as important (if not moreso) than the amount and types. No amount of present or future refrigeration will "unspoil" hamburger once it turns green. (Lame analogy, but I can't think of a better one).

It's sad.

 

[husker_fan_from_sweden]

Most of the people outside of the state of Nebraska will never know the story of the man behind the splash headlines he became known for. Lawrence grew up under tougher circumstances than many of us can possibly imagine and constantly yearned for his parents to just care about him.

He was a misunderstood soul and in a lot of ways marks the passing of an era.

Very sad day for husker fans.

 

[krc1995]

And let's get real. Phillips got a free education including tutoring and whatever help he needed, anger management counseling, and a multi-million dollar contract, as well as personal help from people like Osborne, Vermeil, and Darlington. What do you think would've worked for him?

Not sure. Might have been too late by that point. He was going to sabotage anything good that came his way, because he couldn't trust anything good.

And a million dollar contract is dangerous to a guy like that.

No amount of anything can make up for the unconditional love of being raised in a family. This is what a broken and damaged family produces and I fully blame his mother.

wow, you know that much personally about LP and his bio?? that's a strong statement for a message board.

If your referring to me, then yes I know a lot about his childhood bio. It's better written is articles, books, and told through his teammates.

 

[Malth]

I'm shocked. LP is hands down one of the best running backs we've ever had, and had so much potential to be one of the greats in the NFL. All of it wasted. His life seems like the definition of tragedy.

RIP.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

That was a prison gang killing.

LP himself warned it would happen.

 

[VA Husker Fan]

That was a prison gang killing.

LP himself warned it would happen.

You state that as fact, yet I doubt you have any at hand. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, but few details have been released. They said there was a note. Should be easy to compare the writing to the letters he's already written, though they aren't even releasing it to his next of kin. It's just premature to make such a declarative statement when you know virtually nothing. Unless you have something to back this up other than a dead man's prediction.

 

[NUance]

That was a prison gang killing.

LP himself warned it would happen.

You state that as fact, yet I doubt you have any at hand. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, but few details have been released. They said there was a note. Should be easy to compare the writing to the letters he's already written, though they aren't even releasing it to his next of kin. It's just premature to make such a declarative statement when you know virtually nothing. Unless you have something to back this up other than a dead man's prediction.

If I had to guess I'd say it's true. But I doubt if we ever find out any details or know for sure. If you ask me I'd also say the prison officials are at least partly to blame for both deaths. LP wanted to be locked in solitary confinement to avoid confrontations with a prison gang who had been hassling him. But instead they locked him in a cell with the gang banger who he'd had problems with. They had to know that it would end badly for one or the other. Now that LP is dead I doubt if the prison officials are any too broken up about it. There will be a perfunctory investigation and nothing will come of it.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

Very impactful stuff on Benning & Sharp this morning. I just started listening to the podcasts. Benning and other former Huskers (especially the RB's) lost a close friend yesterday.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

That was a prison gang killing.

LP himself warned it would happen.

You state that as fact, yet I doubt you have any at hand. I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, but few details have been released. They said there was a note. Should be easy to compare the writing to the letters he's already written, though they aren't even releasing it to his next of kin. It's just premature to make such a declarative statement when you know virtually nothing. Unless you have something to back this up other than a dead man's prediction.

That's just how I roll at 1:33 in the morning.