Junior Seau Was the Epitome of a Hard-Working Football Player, Great Person

I don't think there's any question that the NFL and the sports world lost one of its greatest workers, talkers and motivators ever.

And if the report does indeed reveal that former star linebacker Junior Seau killed himself this morning, then this truly marks one of the saddest days in sports history.

Seau was found dead in his home on Wednesday in California and police believe that the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker took his own life with the use of a gun. He played for three teams throughout his career—most notably with the San Diego Chargers, and had stints with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

It's one thing when someone who has lived a long, prosperous life and has done so much for a sport dies and we can appreciate the accomplishments that person's done throughout the course of his life.

But when you're talking about a 43-year-old person who was still playing in the NFL and was playing at such a high level not too long ago, it's almost unthinkable to believe that he could be gone just like that. 

As the old cliche goes, we shouldn't be sad that someone as committed and devoted to his craft as Seau was is now gone from us—but we should be happy in the fact we saw a great person for a long period of time in the NFL.

When I think back about Junior Seau, I think about how hard of a worker he was on the field. He was never a guy to give up on a play, and he played hard on every snap of every play.

Even when he would be blocked by someone bigger than him, he continued to fight hard after the play was over, just to show the offense that it wasn't going to be easy to contain him.

In 2007, the year the Patriots went undefeated and then lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 42, Seau played the entire 16-game season and recorded 74 tackles and three interceptions. Even nearing his late 30s, when most thought he was on the decline, Seau had one of his finest seasons and was a leader on that New England defense.

It's a shame that I only watched the tail end of Seau's career with his hometown Chargers, where he played 12 seasons, made the Pro Bowl in each of those years and was named All-Pro six times. His best season came in 1994 where he recorded 154 tackles and helped lead San Diego to an appearance in Super Bowl 29.

But perhaps one of the most memorable moments of Seau's life was the press conference he held to announce his retirement from football. Looking back at that press conference, it wasn't just an ordinary press conference.

Watching it from home, you had that sense that what he was going to say would resonate with everyone who loved to watch No. 55 play every Sunday. Seau took the podium and delivered one of the most memorable retirement speeches ever.

It was like watching Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones if they were to give a combined speech as one person. I'll let you picture that for awhile.

It's sad that the last years of his life will be remembered for certain instances that show a negative impact of his life, such as driving off a cliff after being arrested for domestic violence and now this instance of possible suicide. But this should never taint the effect that Seau had on everyone, on and off the field.

The world of sports may have lost a great ambassador, but there's comfort in knowing that everything Junior Seau did, he did it with class, respect and honor.

"I'm not retiring," Seau said in his retirement speech. "I'm graduating."

You graduated from something else too, Junior. You graduated at being a great person and an inspiration to all.