Chris Henry (wide receiver)

Henry was born to Carolyn Lee and David Henry in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He attended Belle Chasse High School where he was named New Orleans small schools offensive player of the year during his senior year. During that season the Fighting Cardinals made it to the Louisiana AAA State championship game, which was played at the Louisiana Superdome. Henry also excelled in basketball and track.

Henry enrolled at West Virginia University in 2002, spending his first season as a redshirt. In 2003, he earned Big East Conference freshman of the year[3] and All-Big East second-team honors for catching 41 passes and gaining 1,006 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. He also became the second player in school history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in one season (behind David Saunders), and his 24.5 yards per reception are the third most in a season in school history.[4][5] Henry's best game was a career-high performance of 209 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse. His career-long reception came against Rutgers that season, an 83-yard reception.

In 2004, Henry started seven games and caught 52 passes for 872 yards with 12 touchdowns. After catching three passes in a 30–18 loss to Florida State in the 2005 Gator Bowl, Henry announced that he would enter the 2005 NFL Draft.[6]

During Henry's sophomore season, he was ejected from a game at Rutgers University due to multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and was suspended for the season finale against the University of Pittsburgh. His former Mountaineers coach, Rich Rodriguez, stated that he was "an embarrassment to himself and the program" for his conduct.[7]

Henry majored in athletic coaching education.[8]

On December 15, 2005, Henry was pulled over in northern Kentucky for speeding. During a search, marijuana was found in his shoes. He was also driving without a valid driver's license or valid insurance.[20] He pleaded guilty and avoided a jail sentence.

One month later, on January 30, 2006, he was arrested in Orlando, Florida for multiple gun charges including concealment and aggravated assault with a firearm.[21] He was reported to have been wearing his #15 Bengals jersey at the time of his arrest. He pleaded guilty to this charge and avoided jail time.

On April 29, 2006 Henry allowed three females under the legal drinking age (ages 18, 16 and 15) to consume alcohol at a hotel in Covington, Kentucky.[22] One of the three, an 18-year-old woman, accused Henry of sexually assaulting her; she later retracted her story and was charged with filing a false police report.[23]

Henry was pulled over on Interstate 275 in Ohio on June 3, 2006 at 1:18 a.m. by Ohio Highway Patrol trooper Michael Shimko for suspected drunk driving. He voluntarily submitted to a breathalyzer test at 2:06 A.M. at the Milford Police Department and registered a .092 blood-alcohol level, .012 above the level permitted in the state of Ohio.[24]

On October 6, 2006 Henry was suspended by the NFL for two games for violating the league's substance abuse and personal conduct policies. NFL policies forbade Henry from taking part in practices; however, he was allowed to attend any team meetings. Henry missed the Bengals' October 15, 2006 game at Tampa Bay and their October 22, 2006 home game versus Carolina.[25]

On January 25, 2007, Henry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of a city ordinance commonly referred to as a "keg law." He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with all but two of those days being suspended.[22]

In April 2007, Henry was suspended for the first eight games of the 2007 NFL season for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy.[13] His suspension on the 10th came with a stern warning that future misconduct may result in the end of his career with the NFL. Henry was given permission by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to begin practicing fully.[26] His suspension was lifted and he played in the November 11, 2007 game versus the Baltimore Ravens, amassing 4 catches for 99 yards.

Henry allegedly assaulted a valet attendant at Newport on the Levee in Newport, Kentucky on November 6, 2007.[27] He was arrested for a second time in Orlando on December 3 for violating his probation he was on from a January 30, 2006 arrest. On February 21, 2008, he was found not guilty.

On March 31, 2008, Henry punched a man named Gregory Meyer, 18, in the face and threw a beer bottle through the window of his car. Henry claimed it was a case of mistaken identity and that he thought it was somebody else that owed him money.[28] Henry was waived by the Bengals a day after this arrest and was then served a house arrest sentence.

On December 16, 2009, Henry sustained injuries when he fell out of the back of a moving truck driven by his fiancée Loleini Tonga, while they were engaged in a domestic dispute.[29] Tonga has three children by Henry.[30] On December 17, 2009, Charlotte police announced that Henry had died at 6:36 a.m. ET at Carolinas Medical Center from the injuries sustained in the domestic dispute. Two days later, on December 19, police confirmed that Henry died of blunt force trauma to the head. No charges were filed against his fiancée, and police announced that they found no evidence that Tonga drove recklessly or with excessive speed.[31][32][33] There was no alcohol in Henry's blood at the time of the incident.[34]

To honor Henry, every game of Week 15 (December 17–21) in the NFL that year began with a moment of silence before kickoff.

"Our football team, what they're feeling yesterday and this morning ... they watched a guy mature as a young man and work through adversity," Lewis said, adding that Henry became "a beacon of hope." [35]

On December 20, three days after Henry's death, the Bengals traveled to Qualcomm Stadium to face the San Diego Chargers. As with all the other Week 15 games, a moment of silence was held before kickoff. Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, a close friend of Henry's, openly wept during the silence. Later in the game, on his first touchdown reception, Ochocinco dropped to his knee and paid tribute to Henry in the end-zone.[36]

In June 2010, the Brain Injury Research Institute of West Virginia University released a report that Henry had developed a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy during his playing career due to multiple hard hits to the head.[19] While several former NFL players had been found to have the disease after their deaths, Henry was believed to be the first still-active NFL player to have it. The discovery that Henry had CTE has become a serious issue of concern for football and brain safety, especially since Henry was relatively young and had never been diagnosed with a concussion in any of his five NFL seasons or during his college career at West Virginia. Concern has been raised whether an accumulation of lesser blows could eventually be enough to cause brain damage. It was also believed that the brain damage Henry suffered may have been a factor in his numerous off-the-field incidents.[37]

After his death, Henry's mother made the decision to donate his organs for transplant. Henry's corneas, lungs, kidneys, heart, liver, and pancreas were transplanted, saving the lives of four people.[38][34]

• National Football League player conduct controversy
• List of American football players who died during their careers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Henry (American football player born 1983).

• Cincinnati Bengals bio
• West Virginia Mountaineers bio