Former Denver Broncos draft pick Ahmaad Galloway was found dead at his home in Missouri on Monday.
He was 42.
Galloway, who played running back for four years at the University of Alabama, was drafted by the Broncos in the 7th round of the 2003 NFL draft.
Galloway’s biggest impact wasn’t felt on the gridiron, though. No, Galloway ditched the hash marks on a football field for the hash marks on a piece of paper by becoming an 8th-grade English teacher.
Galloway taught at Compton-Drew Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri, and, according to WVTM-TV, was beloved by his students.
School principal Susan Reid confirmed that Galloway was found dead in his St. Louis home during a welfare check.
“Ahmaad was always on time, very responsible, so we knew something might be wrong,” Reid said. “There wasn’t anything disrupted at Ahmaad’s apartment, so we are thinking that it could have been a medical issue.”
.@AlabamaFTBL family mourns the passing of former RB Ahmaad Galloway, who has died at the age of 42.
The story with reaction from former UA teammates & family members here👇https://t.co/0p4sZPRvCv
📸 Kimberly Slaughter & @bryantmuseum #AhmaadGalloway @WVTM13 @UofAlabama pic.twitter.com/Bw2Yfp4vxa
— Rick Karle WVTM 13 (@RickKarle) January 11, 2023
It wasn’t just the school that was left devastated by his passing.
“Ahmaad Galloway has left this earth but his impact as a man is forever visible in this world,” friend and former classmate David Jordan Jr. wrote for Eshe Magazine.
“Ahmaad was always quiet and humble,” Galloway’s sister, Kimberly Slaughter, told WVTM. “My brother loved football growing up and later loved his children Austin and Aubrey.”
“Growing up he always said that he was going to reach the NFL, and he did,” said Galloway’s cousin, Monaco Houston. “He was very shy. As he grew, he was always great with kids. He was loved very much.”
“We talked frequently about life, not football,” former Alabama teammate Marvin Constant said. “We talked just a week ago and he sounded great. We have been very close since 2002 when we spent time together rehabbing our knee injuries.”
That last sentiment is probably one of the biggest reasons Galloway’s loved ones are struggling with his passing. By all indications, he was a perfectly healthy former pro athlete, living out his days doing what he loved.
And yet, just like that, he was gone.
“The medical examiner is working to find out how Ahmaad died,” Reid told WVTM. A cause of death had not been given as of Thursday.
Galloway played for the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers in the NFL, as well as the Scottish Claymores and the Frankfurt Galaxy of the now-defunct NFL Europe.
