Riddick Thurston Parker Jr. (November 20, 1972 – August 19, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

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 seven seasons 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 ...

(NFL). He played for 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 ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

from 1997 to 2003. Parker played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

Early life

Parker was born in Emporia, Virginia, on November 20, 1972. He attended Southampton High School in nearby

Courtland, Virginia Courtland is an incorporated town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,295 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Southampton County. History Originally named "Jerusalem" by the first colonists to settle in t ...

, where he played for its football team and received all-state honors in 1989. He then studied history and communications at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1994. He played for the

, joining as a scholarship true freshman and ultimately lettering in all four years. Undrafted in the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...

, Parker signed as a rookie free agent with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, but was waived prior to the start of the 1995 season. He then played for the Rhein Fire of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

for the 1996 season, before signing with the

in July of that same year.

Professional career

Parker made his NFL debut with the Seahawks on August 31, 1997, at the age of 25, in a 41–3 loss against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. During his rookie season, he served as the team's reserve

, playing in 12 games and recording three tackles. He then posted seven tackles and one sack in 8 games during the 1998 season, having fended off a challenge from Carl Hansen for the franchise's number 4

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 ...

. Regarded as small for a player in his position, Parker increased his weight from to in 1999. He subsequently had a breakthrough year, starting all 16 games for the Seahawks during the 2000 season and recording a career-best 48 tackles. In the ninth game of the season on October 29, 2000, he made a career-high nine tackles in a 24–19 loss to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. Parker became a free agent after the 2000 season and signed with the

on June 5 of the following year. He won his only Super Bowl ring when the Patriots emerged victorious in the Super Bowl XXXVI. However, he did not play in the championship game. Parker spent his last two years in the NFL with the

. He signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on August 7, 2004, but retired after being released the following month.

Later life

After retiring from professional football, Parker worked as a financial adviser with

Legg Mason Legg Mason was an American investment management and asset management firm headquartered in Baltimore, founded in 1899 and acquired by Franklin Templeton Investments as of July 2020. As of December 31, 2019, the company had $730.8 billion in asse ...

. He earned a graduate certificate in school administration and supervision from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, before obtaining a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from

Walden University Walden University is a private online for-profit university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Health, E ...

. He was subsequently employed as an education consultant working on literacy development and graduation pathway programs for Baltimore City Public Schools, before becoming an assistant principal at Armstrong High School. Parker was promoted to principal of

George Wythe High School Richmond Public Schools is a public school district located in the independent city of Richmond, Virginia. It is occasionally described locally as Richmond City Public Schools to emphasize its connection to the independent city rather than the ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, during the summer of 2021. He died suddenly while bicycling, on the morning of August 19, 2022, in

Chesterfield, Virginia Chesterfield is an unincorporated community that is the county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2020 census. It was not delineated as a CDP for the 2010 census. The Chesterfield ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Riddick 1972 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople People from Emporia, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football defensive linemen North Carolina Tar Heels football players San Diego Chargers players Seattle Seahawks players New England Patriots players Baltimore Ravens players San Francisco 49ers players Rhein Fire players American school administrators