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Andy Reid's son found dead at training camp


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EASTON, Pa. (AP) An accidental heroin overdose killed Garrett Reid, the son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, a coroner said Thursday.

 

Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said a toxicology test confirmed the presence of heroin in Garrett Reid's body. Investigators revealed they found a used syringe and spoon in his room, along with a gym bag filled with dozens of syringes and needles, many of them unopened.

 

"We are confident today that Mr. Reid's death was the result of a self-injected lethal dose of heroin," District Attorney John Morganelli said at a news conference in Easton.

 

Reid was found dead in his dorm room early on Aug. 5 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where he was assisting the team's strength and conditioning coach during training camp.

 

He was a recovering drug addict who had seemingly turned his life around. His father, Andy Reid, had indicated that his 29-year-old son may have had a relapse.

 

Lehigh University police were called to Garrett Reid's dorm room around 7:20 a.m., arriving after Eagles team physician Dr. Omar Elkhamra had tried to revive him with a defibrillator.

 

Investigators found 47 syringes and 65 needles in Reid's gym bag, along with 19 vials of an unknown liquid that Morganelli said will undergo testing.

 

"We're not sure, exactly, what those substances are at this time," he said, adding they had nothing to do with Garrett Reid's death.

 

Morganelli said the investigation is now focused on learning the identity of Garrett Reid's supplier. Investigators are combing through Reid's phone records to see who he was calling and texting in the days, weeks and months leading up to his death. Reid's body showed signs of chronic drug use, according to Lysek.

 

Reid seemed to have rebounded from a long struggle with drug abuse.

 

He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for a 2007 high-speed car crash that injured another driver. Police said Reid was high on heroin, and they found the drug and more than 200 pills in his car.

 

"I don't want to die doing drugs. I don't want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD'd and just faded into oblivion," he told the judge at his sentencing hearing.

 

More recently, exercise and training had become his passion and he aspired to make it a career. At the time of his death, he had been helping strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin.

 

While Northampton County officials made it official on Thursday, Andy Reid had hinted at the cause of Garrett's death in a statement released shortly after his son's death. He said Garrett Reid had "lost the battle that has been ongoing for the last eight years."

 

Reid's younger brother, Britt, has also struggled with drug use and was arrested on the same day as Garrett in 2007 after a road-rage incident. Police discovered weapons and drugs in Britt Reid's vehicle. He now works as a graduate assistant coach at Temple.

 

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Reid's body showed signs of chronic drug use, according to Lysek.

 

Reid seemed to have rebounded from a long struggle with drug abuse.

 

Does someone actually get paid to write and/or edit these sentences back-to-back?

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That situation has got to have Reid troubled and distracted. I can certainly see the Eagles not exactly focused on football during that time and it shows. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in Coach Reids position. Or the team for that matter, having a guy die of OD at your training camp. Tough thing to overcome as a family while coaching.

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That situation has got to have Reid troubled and distracted. I can certainly see the Eagles not exactly focused on football during that time and it shows. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in Coach Reids position. Or the team for that matter, having a guy die of OD at your training camp. Tough thing to overcome as a family while coaching.

Then maybe he shouldn't have continued coaching. Your son dies and you call a presser where you recite some cliche-laden-coach-speak address about circling the wagons or what not? That's the type of crap you say after your best player blows an ACL, not when your own son dies. He should have stepped away and gone home to help his family deal with.

 

His whole reaction smacked of selfishness and cowardice, running to the cozy confines of the film room rather than stepping up as a husband and a father. Perhaps some self-reflection on what effect his single-minded devotion to the game over all other things might have had on his son getting into trouble in the first place may have been in order?

 

The more layers we peel off the lives of coaches, the less respect I have for them. We're supposed to admire their dedication, but it seems more like a pathological infatuation with a game over all other things, including those who count on them. Well, those who count on them and don't play football, that is.

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Then maybe he shouldn't have continued coaching. Your son dies and you call a presser where you recite some cliche-laden-coach-speak address about circling the wagons or what not? That's the type of crap you say after your best player blows an ACL, not when your own son dies. He should have stepped away and gone home to help his family deal with.

 

His whole reaction smacked of selfishness and cowardice, running to the cozy confines of the film room rather than stepping up as a husband and a father. Perhaps some self-reflection on what effect his single-minded devotion to the game over all other things might have had on his son getting into trouble in the first place may have been in order?

 

The more layers we peel off the lives of coaches, the less respect I have for them. We're supposed to admire their dedication, but it seems more like a pathological infatuation with a game over all other things, including those who count on them. Well, those who count on them and don't play football, that is.

 

 

Wow that seems harsh. Do you feel the same way about other workaholics in the business world. You're a business owner and I'm sure you spend a lot of time tending to your business. Are you neglecting friends and family in the process?

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Wow that seems harsh. Do you feel the same way about other workaholics in the business world. You're a business owner and I'm sure you spend a lot of time tending to your business. Are you neglecting friends and family in the process?

 

I think we, as a society, have a bit of a warped perspective on this sort of thing. And, no. In fact, I hire managers to manage many things and spend 5 or more nights a week at home or at least away from work. Something unheard of in my business.

 

Once again, virtually every time I've read more about these coaches and many players, it seems the very thing we deify is really a pretty glaring flaw. I read "Genius" the story of Bill Walsh and, as a Niner fan, I was fired up. Turned out to be totally freaking depressing. A story about a tormented and paranoid guy who didn't really seem all that cool, actually.

 

Go ahead and dive into your work, especially if it is your passion, but there are people outside of that work who count on you. And, here's an idea, don't have a family. It's like the players. One of the smartest things Jeter did was stay single for as long as he did. He could run around banging every A-list starlet in NY and we're yelling "Go Jetes!" Idiot like Tiger Woods just had to go and marry someone and make babies. Why? You're a self-centered egotist, it's what makes you great. Why do you need to drag someone else into this and set the whole thing up for failure?

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det,

 

Trust me, I am no workaholic. I don't have a family (wife and kids) but that doesn't mean I want to work 10+ hours a day for the same pay as if I worked 8. I have a social life, hobbies and interests that I like to do.

 

When my parents passed I was really shaken and took time off work. But after a while it was good to get back to work, do things that were not related to planning funerals, shuttling out of town family around, or planning long term (sell the house, etc.)

 

It just seemed like you're trashing Reid for him not quitting his job and going into seclusion to deal with family stuff. Like his working hard is what caused his kids to be drug addicts, and the one son ODing.

 

To each his own I saw, people all handle things differently.

 

PS Good point on Jeter vs. Tiger, same goes for many other celebrities/entertainers.

 

PS Yes, it sounds like your arrangement is very different from others I know who manage a small business. Many of them spend 12-16 hours a day at their business dealing with many issues and doing many jobs. You're

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Maybe Reid's response is exactly why his son's have troubles? I mean it's possible that being totally immersed in football has taken it's toll on the family. His son's both have Major issues that may be a result of neglect or being too busy to tend to their needs or being watchful as to what they were doing growing up. I have no idea what kind of father he was so I can't possibly know for sure but this whole thing smacks of kids left to do what they will and hang around who they want to without much guidance. Or being spoiled to death and not prepared for real life and it chewed them up. I could be dead wrong and they as adults chose to be scumbags and drug addicts completely on their own and Coach Reid did everything in his power to give them a good start in life and they chose to piss it all away. That is possible also.

 

However, to not know your own kid has track marks all over his body and more needles then a porcupine with diabetes in his gym bag, leaves me to wonder, how the heck to you miss that kind of thing? I mean, if my kid was prone to use drugs and I see him every day, there is NO way I don't know he is high or using. He's my son and I should know him better then anyone else. His moods, his habits, and yes if he is high on heroin during training camp! Sorry but that just makes me wonder how much anyone was paying attention now and historically. Just sayin...... :shrug:

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Ill prob take a ton of $hit for this but even as an eagles fan, is this really a "tragedy"? The kid was a drug addict that had previous run ins with the law. Now whether this has anything to do with Andy being too dedicated to his job is one thing but still, were not talking about a saint here. I mean Christ, is it a shame the kid went down the wrong path? Sure. But a tragedy? Lets get a grip here

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Ill prob take a ton of $hit for this but even as an eagles fan, is this really a "tragedy"? The kid was a drug addict that had previous run ins with the law. Now whether this has anything to do with Andy being too dedicated to his job is one thing but still, were not talking about a saint here. I mean Christ, is it a shame the kid went down the wrong path? Sure. But a tragedy? Lets get a grip here

 

 

I freaking hate the eagles like poison and have called Reid everything in the book over the years.

 

Dude lost his son. Let it go.

 

Someone gun this thread....enough

Edited by HowboutthemCowboys
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Ill prob take a ton of $hit for this but even as an eagles fan, is this really a "tragedy"? The kid was a drug addict that had previous run ins with the law. Now whether this has anything to do with Andy being too dedicated to his job is one thing but still, were not talking about a saint here. I mean Christ, is it a shame the kid went down the wrong path? Sure. But a tragedy? Lets get a grip here

 

You're an idiot. Of course it's a tragedy. A human being lost his life.

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I'm at a loss trying to imagine what it would be like to have my son die of a drug overdose. Meanwhile, some of you are using this topic to vent your self-important judgments about family values? I'm stupefied that anyone thinks that's a good idea, even in a forum filled with idiots.

 

None of us even knows 1 percent of the real story of this guy's death. You don't know what Andy Reid was like, you don't know what his mom was like, you have no idea what kind of other influences he had at any point in his life. Trust me: There are many more productive things you could be doing instead of typing ignorant sh*t on a message board after a young man lost his life in one of the most gut-wrenching ways possible. And if you don't know what I mean by that, then you clearly have no experience with someone close to you struggling with drug addiction...which is another reason to shut the hell up and move on.

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I'm at a loss trying to imagine what it would be like to have my son die of a drug overdose. Meanwhile, some of you are using this topic to vent your self-important judgments about family values? I'm stupefied that anyone thinks that's a good idea, even in a forum filled with idiots.

 

None of us even knows 1 percent of the real story of this guy's death. You don't know what Andy Reid was like, you don't know what his mom was like, you have no idea what kind of other influences he had at any point in his life. Trust me: There are many more productive things you could be doing instead of typing ignorant sh*t on a message board after a young man lost his life in one of the most gut-wrenching ways possible. And if you don't know what I mean by that, then you clearly have no experience with someone close to you struggling with drug addiction...which is another reason to shut the hell up and move on.

 

 

Wow. This + Everything- Well said.

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Cliche but true with addiction: u didn't cause it, u can't cure it, and u can't control it

 

 

Really, is that medically proven that people have a predisposition to addiction, and will get addicted to something in their lives no matter how hard they try? It seems like everything these days is an illness, instead of being something that people chose to do (use drugs, drink too much, beat their spouse [well maybe that is still a choice].)

 

Because I'm not sure I buy that "You didn't cause it", if you never start using drugs its pretty hard to get addicted to drugs. Sure it can be very difficult to kick the habit afterward, but you wouldn't have a habit to kick if you didn't start one.

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Agree with stevegrab. Again I wasn't saying that it isn't a shame that the kid ended up dying at an early age, but if he was the son of a car salesmen no one would care. The kid chose to do these drugs. I worked with a guy whose son died of a heroin overdose. He had sent him to a couple rehabs and it never worked...one day he said to me "my sons friend died last night of an OD, my sons next." It is quite fathomable that Reid's thoughts were exactly that...he may have accepted the outcome before it actually happened. Is it sad that a young guy died? Absolutely. But let's not act like this is a tragedy.

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Agree with stevegrab. Again I wasn't saying that it isn't a shame that the kid ended up dying at an early age, but if he was the son of a car salesmen no one would care. The kid chose to do these drugs. I worked with a guy whose son died of a heroin overdose. He had sent him to a couple rehabs and it never worked...one day he said to me "my sons friend died last night of an OD, my sons next." It is quite fathomable that Reid's thoughts were exactly that...he may have accepted the outcome before it actually happened. Is it sad that a young guy died? Absolutely. But let's not act like this is a tragedy.

 

 

Please don't lump in with your "its not a tragedy" view, my only point was in response to Scooby basically saying "drug addicts are blameless".

 

It is a tragedy, anytime somebody dies of something that is preventable it is a tragedy. We are only talking about it because of who is father is. If he wasn't well known it wouldn't have hardly made the news and probably not being discussed by anybody that didn't actually know him.

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