Michael Anthony Frier (March 20, 1969 – December 31, 2015) was a former

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 end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played collegiately at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

and professionally with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

Early life

Frier was born on March 20, 1969, to Beatrice Poindexter, a single mother who was unable to care for him on her own, so she placed him in the care of Ann and Ulysses Frier, who would adopt him as their child. Frier still kept in touch with Poindexter throughout the course of his life.

College career

Frier attended

on a four-year football scholarship. His academic struggles early on, almost made him ineligible to play on the football team. In order to pick his grades up, Frier attended summer classes. Despite his best efforts, Frier was forced to sit out his senior season as a result of being academically ineligible. The move lowered his draft stock and he was selected by the

in the seventh round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

Professional career

Frier attended the Seahawks training camp at the start of the

1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was resched ...

, but failed to crack the roster and was waived by the club, and was claimed off waivers by the

that season, where he would start in three games for the team. The following season, Frier would start in six games for the Bengals. Frier's tenure with the club was described as being hostile at best, from butting heads with the coaching staff to his indifference towards the team. Frier was suspended four games without pay, after he made an unexcused absence from a team practice. One game prior to his suspension being lifted, Frier was released from the Bengals on October 12, 1994. Frier returned to the Seahawks on November 2, 1994, following an injury to

Tyrone Rodgers Tyrone Dworin Rodgers (born April 27, 1969) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Seattle Seahawks (1992–1994). Early career Rodgers played high school football at Phineas Bann ...

. Although Frier failed to record a tackle in his first couple games with the club, his performance on the field garnered the attention of the team's coaching staff. Frier's return to the Seahawks was seen as a homecoming of sorts, as he had put roots down in the area prior to his release.

Career ending injury

On December 1, 1994, Frier and teammates

Lamar Smith Lamar Seeligson Smith (born November 19, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives for for 16 terms, a district including most of the wealthier sections of San Antonio and Austin, as w ...

and Chris Warren were involved in a collision in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downto ...

, in which Smith's vehicle crashed into a utility pole. Smith and Warren walked away with minor injuries, while Frier took the brunt of the impact and was pinned by a speaker. As a result of the collision, Frier became paralyzed from the waist down. Smith was charged with impaired driving and was ordered to pay Frier 50–75% of his NFL earnings for the duration of his career. Frier was a member of the Seahawks for two weeks at the time of the crash.

Post-football career

Frier and his then-girlfriend Kelly Butler had one daughter, Mik'Kell. Following the accident, Frier remained in the Greater

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area where his father Ulysses moved in to take care of him. In the years following the accident, Frier was involved in various charitable endeavours related to spinal cord injuries. Frier had also started an entertainment company called 'Supasize Entertainment', and was planning to pursue a career in music and DJing following his playing career.

Death

Frier died on December 31, 2015, aged 46 after suffering a heart attack. Frier was survived by his daughter, Mik'Kell and a grandson.

References

External links

Career Statistics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frier, Mike 1969 births 2015 deaths People from Jacksonville, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Appalachian State Mountaineers football players Cincinnati Bengals players Seattle Seahawks players