Bryan Sidney Pata (August 12, 1984 – November 7, 2006) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
for the
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
and was majoring in
criminology
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
.
After leaving a football practice during his fourth year at the school, Pata was murdered, a crime unsolved for 15 years.
Career
Pata played three seasons at
North Miami High School
North Miami Senior High School (NMSHS) is a public high school in North Miami, Florida, United States. Located at 13110 NE 8th Avenue, The school opened as Edward L. Constance Junior-Senior High School in 1951; with 1,500 students in 7th, 8th and ...
before moving on to
Miami Central High School
Miami Central Senior High School is a secondary school located at 1781 NW 95th Street in West Little River, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.0.1%
80.7% of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Miami Central has a large Hait ...
. He was named to ''
Super Prep
''Super Prep'' is a sports magazine based in Laguna Beach, California, published in since 1985. It was founded and is published by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players.
In 19 ...
s All-America team, and rated as the nation's 26th-best defensive lineman by that magazine.
[ ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' also named him as one of the top 100 players in Southern United States, the South. He chose to attend the University of Miami after also considering Rutgers University, the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma.][ Pata played primarily defensive tackle in his last season, totaling 13 tackles and two Quarterback sack, sacks.][ He had been placed on the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, Hendricks Award, awarded to college football's top defensive end.
]
Death
On November 7, 2006, Pata was shot and killed outside of his apartment complex in Kendall, Florida,[ Pata was 22 years old.]
See also
*List of American football players who died during their careers
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Miami Hurricanes profileOfficial Bryan Pata Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pata, Bryan
1984 births
2006 deaths
2006 murders in the United States
North Miami Senior High School alumni
American football defensive linemen
Male murder victims
Miami Hurricanes football players
Murdered African-American people
People murdered in Florida
Deaths by firearm in Florida
Players of American football from Miami
African-American players of American football
Miami Central Senior High School alumni
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American sportspeople