Shane Olivea (October 7, 1981 – March 2, 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 an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

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 was drafted by 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 ...

in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He 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 ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Olivea was also a member of the

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

, as well as the

Florida Tuskers Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

and

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 UFL season, 2011 season. They played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL).

College career

Olivea grew up in

Long Beach, New York Long Beach is an oceanfront Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County in New York (state), New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the weste ...

, and attended Lawrence High School his senior year. Olivea attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

and played

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

from 2000 to 2003. He was a three-year starter and a two-time member of the All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

second team.

Professional career

2004 NFL Draft

Originally valued as a third rounder, Olivea strained his

pectoral muscle Pectoral muscles (colloquially referred to as "pecs") are the muscles that connect the front of the human chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder. This region contains four muscles that provide movements to the upper limbs or ribs. P ...

lifting weights about a week before the draft and this scared away a lot of teams. One of which was the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, who wanted to take Olivea in the first day, but called just before their 3rd round pick to tell Olivea that they took him off their draft board because they thought he would need surgery.

A. J. Smith Albert J. Smith (born February 28, 1949) is a former American football player, coach, scout, and executive. He served as a part-time scout for several NFL and USFL teams before joining the Buffalo Bills in 1986, serving as a scout and executive ...

, excited at the fact Olivea was off many draft boards, took him with one of their final picks. Concerning Olivea's injury status, AJ said, “We checked him out, like a lot of clubs, but medical staffs vary. We rely heavily on our medical staff, and he checked out perfectly. We’re not going to take a chance if we think a player is damaged goods. We were doing other things (in earlier rounds), so selfishly we were kind of glad he took a ride (dropped in draft status) and he was still there. We kind of stole one in the seventh round.” Olivea was drafted by the Chargers (209th overall) in the seventh round of the

San Diego Chargers

Since being drafted in 2004, Olivea started 31 of 32 games in 2 seasons for the Chargers. In August 2006, The Chargers rewarded Olivea with a 6-year, $20 million extension. The deal made him the sixth highest-paid right tackle in the NFL at the time. Due to his performance and his low draft position, Olivea was considered to be a draft steal. On February 28, 2008, Olivea was released by the Chargers, due to a missed drug test following a previous failed drug test. Olivea tested positive for pain medication.

New York Giants

On July 10, 2008, it was reported that Olivea had agreed to terms on a contract with the

. On August 14, 2008, the Giants placed Olivea on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury. He was later released with an injury settlement.

Personal life

During his playing career, Olivea developed an addiction to pain killers. He said that he took as many as 125

Vicodin Hydrocodone/paracetamol (also known as hydrocodone/acetaminophen) is the combination of the pain medications hydrocodone and paracetamol (acetaminophen). It is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is taken by mouth. Recreational use is co ...

pills in one day. He checked into the

Betty Ford Center The Betty Ford Center (BFC) is a non-profit, residential treatment center for persons with substance dependence in Rancho Mirage, California. It offers inpatient, outpatient, and residential day treatment for alcohol and other drug addictions, as ...

in 2008 and spent 89 days in treatment there. In 2015, Olivea returned to Ohio State to complete his

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 ...

Death

Olivea died on March 2, 2022, at the age of 40, with the cause of death revealed on June 21 to be from hypertensive heart disease contributed by obesity.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olivea, Shane 1981 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from the Bronx People from Cedarhurst, New York People from Long Beach, New York Players of American football from Nassau County, New York American football offensive tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players San Diego Chargers players New York Giants players Florida Tuskers players Virginia Destroyers players People from Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York Lawrence High School (Cedarhurst, New York) alumni