Ex-Falcon Chris Draft is mourning the loss of his wife

Chris Draft

Former Falcons linebacker Chris Draft is mourning the loss of his wife LaKeasha Monique Rutledge Draft, who passed away on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.

Draft made this post on his website, “My wife, (La)Keasha Monique Rutledge Draft passed away today at 12:04 pm. RIP Sweetie.”

Draft’s media manager, Sidmel Estes, confirmed the passing and stated that the services will be held in South Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m. with Pastor Olu Brown, of Impact United Methodist Church in Atlanta, officiating. Also, Edwin Turnipseed, a support pastor at Impact, will participate in the ceremony.

Draft , a sixth-round pick out of Stanford by the Chicago Bears in 1998, went on to play 12 years in the NFL. He played for the Falcons from 2000 to 2004. He also played for San Francisco, Carolina, St. Louis and Buffalo.

The civic minded Draft, a California native who elected to make Atlanta his home, has been a tireless worker with kids in the community through his foundation.

He also has been a popular speaker at the NFL Rookie Symposium, where veteran players talk to the new players coming into the league about the pitfalls of pro football.

Back in 2002, Draft helped pull a man from a burning car on Interstate-85 in Duluth, Ga.

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–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog

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