Respiratory failure is believed to have caused the death of former Brigham Young University football player Brad Martin.
Martin, 30, a star linebacker at BYU from 1994 to 1998, was found dead May 30 by his landlord in the Salt Lake City home he was renting. Police told Martin's family he likely died five to six days earlier.
An autopsy was inconclusive, and the results of a toxicology screen by the State Medical Examiner's Office did little to shed any light on the cause of death, said Ellen Martin, Brad's mother.
"There was nothing in his system that was not supposed to be there," she said. "(Medical professionals) tend to think it was respiratory failure."
Brad Martin had been battling a longtime addiction to prescription painkillers, a dependency he acquired while playing for the Cougars.
In September 1998, Martin's senior year, he was injured in a car accident while on his way to practice. He was plagued by neck problems throughout the season and turned to prescription painkillers to extend his football career, his mother said.
"He just wanted to play so badly," she said. "I think he just thought he could do it for 3 1/2 months and then be done with it. . . . He had no desire to be an addict. All he wanted to do was play football."
Brad Martin filed a lawsuit against BYU in 2004 over the responsibility of medical bills for treatment of injuries he sustained in the car accident.
In the court documents, Brad Martin contended that BYU "continually allowed me to play football despite my injuries" and "provided me with an abundance of painkillers . . . to allow me to play through the pain in my last football season."
The university and the Martin family reached a settlement in the case.
Ellen Martin said her son knew he would have a lifetime battle with the addiction, but he had been winning. Just weeks before his death, Brad Martin told his parents he had been clean for nearly a year.
"He was headed in the right direction," she said.
Whether Brad Martin's prolonged addiction to painkillers ultimately played a role in his death is just speculation, Ellen Martin said.
"Who knows? He was taking an excessive amount (of painkillers) by the time he walked off the field," she said.
Brad Martin was a two-time co-captain for the Cougars, totalling nearly 280 tackles — including 12.5 sacks — in his college career.
He started all 15 games as a sophomore during the memorable 1996 season that saw the Cougars post a 14-1 record, win the Western Athletic Conference title and defeat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl.
As a junior in 1997, he was an honorable mention All-WAC selection.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com