Anthony "T. J." Cunningham Jr. (October 24, 1972 – February 18, 2019) was a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

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), playing for the Seattle Seahawks in 1996. Cunningham decided to retire after only one season. He played college football for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Early life and education

Cunningham was born in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...

. He graduated from

Overland High School Overland High School is located in Aurora, Colorado, United States, and is part of the Cherry Creek School District. Overland High School is a comprehensive public, suburban, college-oriented institution. It is accredited by the North Central As ...

. After his star football career in high school, Cunningham attended college at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

, playing football there as well.

Career

Athletic career

Cunningham was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round (209th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft. That year, Cunningham played in nine games before injuring his knee against the Oakland Raiders. He was released on August 25, 1997 after being placed on the

physically unable to perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list a week prior.

After football

After his playing career, Cunningham returned to his hometown and worked at William C. Hinkley High School, part of Aurora Public Schools, as its assistant principal.

Death

On February 17, 2019, Cunningham was shot at

Eaglecrest High School Eaglecrest High School is a public high school located in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado, near the cities of Aurora and Centennial. Eaglecrest was the fourth high school to open in the Cherry Creek School District, and it is a member o ...

in Arapahoe County by a neighbor following an ongoing dispute over a parking space. He had met with the suspect, Marcus Johnson, at the parking lot to "box it out", when Johnson shot him three times. He died the following day as a result of his injuries. Johnson is being charged with first-degree murder.

References

External links

databaseFootball.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, T. J. 1972 births 2019 deaths Deaths by firearm in Colorado Players of American football from Aurora, Colorado Educators from Colorado American football safeties Colorado Buffaloes football players Seattle Seahawks players People murdered in Colorado American murder victims