Monday, December 17, 2012

Eagles statements on Garrett Reid death findings

On Monday, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli announced his findings in the investigation of Garrett Reid's death in August.

The 29-year-old Reid, son of Eagles head coach Andy Reid, was found unresponsive in his dorm room at Lehigh University on August 5 and died the same day. Morganelli confirmed what had been reported at the time, that Reid was found with syringes and vials of an unknown liquid, found to be different kinds of steroids. However, there was no findings that Reid distributed such to Eagles personnel.

"As you all know, my son Garrett battled addiction for many years. While there were some victories along the way, it ultimately was a battle that he lost and that cost him his life. Our family feels the pain of that loss every day," Coach Reid said in a Monday statement.

"Today’s report saddens me greatly, but only confirms the troubles Garrett encountered in the final years of his life. As parents, we were encouraged by his apparent progress but, like many addicts, he was able to conceal the signs of relapse.

"Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles organization and the people of Philadelphia have been remarkably supportive of my family throughout our ordeal. I am confident that my son’s decisions did not affect our football team in any way. I cannot apologize enough for any adverse appearances that my son's actions may have for an organization and a community that has been nothing but supportive of our family."

Lurie responded with his own statement a short time later: 

"The news today on Garrett Reid's possession of steroids is disappointing. It's clear the conduct in which he apparently engaged runs counter to the values and principles mandated for everyone associated with our organization. We have spoken with the league office and have pledged our full cooperation with their requests should there be any. While we remained saddened by the tragic end of a young man's life and know how hard this must be for the entire Reid family, we are extremely confident that Garrett's actions were unknown to those around him and did not involve our football team.

"The NFL has a rigorous drug testing program for its players. It is a matter of record that none of our players has tested positive for any of the steroids mentioned in the district attorney’s report."

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