Former Detroit Lions cornerback Stanley Wilson Jr. died from a pulmonary thromboembolism likely caused by a blood clot in a deep vein, TMZ reported Thursday. The onetime football prodigy collapsed and died at age 40 during intake to a California mental hospital in February after he was arrested for multiple break-ins, including one in which he was caught bathing in a stranger’s home fountain. Wilson retired from the NFL in 2008 following a tear to his Achilles tendon and had struggled with serious mental illness ever since. While TMZ’s findings indicate Wilson’s death as natural, his family has sued Los Angeles County for allegedly “grossly misrepresenting the cause and circumstances” of his death, according to filings. The complaint claimed law enforcement officials beat him prior to his death, even possibly stomping on his head. Wilson’s family is seeking $45 million in damages.
