🕯️ Terry Long’s Loved Ones Stunned After His Name Appears in Shooter’s Final Words—Then Another Football-Linked Death Strikes the Family

The family of former NFL offensive lineman Terry Long is in mourning—again. But this time, it’s not just for the loss of their loved one. It’s for the shocking resurgence of his name in one of the most disturbing crimes to rock Manhattan in years.

When the news broke that the shooter behind the devastating Midtown attack had left behind a suicide note—one that included Terry Long’s name—the entire sports world stopped in disbelief.

Long, who died by suicide in 2005 after a battle with mental health issues and suspected CTE, had long faded from headlines. Until now.

Now, more than a decade later, the Long family is being pulled back into the public eye, facing renewed grief and questions they never expected to answer again.

And in a heartbreaking twist, the family has revealed a new personal tragedy—another relative, also a former football player, has recently died under eerily similar circumstances. Two generations. Two football-linked deaths. One family, left shattered.

According to family sources, the shooter—whose name has not been officially released due to ongoing investigations—made references to Long’s “downward spiral,” calling him “proof that football kills quietly.”

The note, said to be several pages long, blamed football for “destroying minds and families” and described Long as “a warning the world ignored.”

For the Longs, these words cut deeper than anything they’ve experienced since Terry’s death.

“It’s like opening a wound that never healed,” said one family member, speaking anonymously. “We never imagined Terry’s name would be twisted like this—used to justify something evil.”

The family has chosen not to speak publicly—until now.

In a statement released through their attorney, the Long family expressed both grief and fury.

“Terry Long was a father, a brother, a son. He struggled with things we didn’t fully understand at the time. But he would never want his name tied to something like this. We are devastated.”

But the horror didn’t end with the suicide note.

Just days after the Manhattan shooting, the family confirmed that Terry’s nephew, a former college linebacker who had also played briefly in the Canadian Football League, was found dead in his apartment. Early reports suggest suicide, though toxicology results are still pending.

The nephew had reportedly suffered multiple concussions during his playing years, and family members say he had shown signs of mood swings, memory lapses, and paranoia in recent months—classic signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the same brain disease that Terry Long was posthumously linked to.

“It’s like history is repeating itself,” one cousin wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. “Football gave us everything. And it took everything away.”

The NFL, so far, has not commented on the renewed spotlight surrounding Long or the disturbing suicide note. But online, fans are already reigniting long-standing debates about the league’s responsibility when it comes to brain trauma and mental health support for former players.

Some are calling for the NFL to issue a public acknowledgment of Terry Long’s case. Others are urging the league to offer better long-term care for retired players and their families, especially those showing signs of CTE-related symptoms.

But for the Longs, this isn’t about headlines, lawsuits, or policy changes. This is about grief. Raw, undiluted grief that keeps coming in waves.

Friends close to the family say the recent events have taken an unbearable toll. “They thought they had closed that chapter,” one neighbor said. “But now they’re reliving everything—and worse, they’re dealing with a new loss that feels just like the old one.”

As the investigation into the shooter’s background continues, there’s growing speculation about how—and why—Terry Long was chosen as a symbolic figure in the suicide note. Was the shooter a former athlete? A fan? Someone obsessed with NFL trauma cases?

For now, those answers remain unclear.

What is clear, however, is the emotional wreckage left behind. One note, one name, and two lives—both seemingly claimed by the same brutal sport.

The story of Terry Long has always been one of quiet tragedy. But now, it’s become a national conversation once again.

And for his family, the nightmare continues.

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