Scott Ross has died at the age of 45 of heart failure. He used to be one of the stars of the Southern California football team as a linebacker back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
According to Sporting News, Scott Ross died on Sunday, and his body was found by a still unnamed friend in a church parking lot in Lafayette, La, the university confirmed.
The 45-year-old former athlete used to be an all-Pac-10 linebacker for the Southern California football team in 1988, 1989 and 1990. He also played briefly for the New Orleans Saints back in 1991.
Craig Stansbury, public information officer for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, said the friend found Scott Ross' dead body inside a car, and that there were no signs of foul play at all.
Though several news outlets already wrote that Scott Ross died of heart failure, the official cause of death is yet to be announced since the results of the late athlete's toxicology tests are yet to be made since testing is still on-going, reported Los Angeles Times.
In 2012, Scott Ross filed a lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Properties in the New York Supreme Court, claiming that he had "sustained multiple repetitive traumatic impacts and concussions, for which he was never treated by a physician while he played in the NFL."
The Washington Post has learned that Ross claimed back then that he "suffers from severe memory loss, cognitive dementia, and, on information and belief, chronic traumatic encephalopathy ("CTE"), a condition caused by repetitive sub-concussive and/or concussive blows to the head."
Scott Ross "was well-known for his hard-nosed style of play and continued the once-proud tradition of the No. 35 for linebackers [at USC]."
Ross' case was said to be one of the 5,000 or so suits that were consolidated into one action.
The 6-foot-2 former linebacker grew up in Livermore, where his father works as a sales representative for a sporting goods company.
Scott Ross is survived by a daughter named Caroline, his parents, Marshall and Janie, and a brother named Jason.
A memorial service for the late athlete is planned for Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. at Saddleback Church.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
