Gambling Debt May Have Led to Bronco's Suicide

Kenny McKinley owed loads to casino
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 2, 2010 8:34 AM CST
Gambling Debt May Have Led to Bronco's Suicide
This July 29, 2009, file photo shows Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley stretching before drills at the team's training camp in Englewood, Colo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Kenny McKinley had a gambling problem and deep debts as a result when he took his own life in September, investigators looking into the wide receiver’s death discovered. One fellow Bronco, backup quarterback Tom Brandstater, told investigators he’d lent McKinley $65,000 to pay down $40,000 he owed a Las Vegas casino. Investigators also found that McKinley had mentioned suicide to three of his teammates, including Brandstater. McKinley was also worried about child support for his toddler son and a separate paternity suit.

"It's unfortunate at a time like this that we don't get to focus on how great of a person Kenny was and how much he meant to a lot of people," Brandstater told the AP yesterday. "As for the other circumstances, Kenny was a friend in need and I would do anything for him, as he would have done for me." (More Kenny McKinley death stories.)

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