Former Mount Carmel and Illini football star Glenn Foster diesSun-Times wireson December 7, 2021 at 11:48 pm

Glenn Foster of the Illinois Fighting Illini poses for a picture in 2011 | AP

Foster was in police custody in PIckens County, Ala., after a car crash

Former Mount Carmel and University of Illinois star Glenn Foster Jr. died Monday after being taken into police custody in Alabama. He was 31.

Foster, an undrafted free agent who appeared in 17 games as a defensive lineman with the New Orleans Saints in 2013 and 2014, was reportedly involved in a high-speed police chase that culminated in a crash. NOLA.com reported that Foster later got into a jail fight with another detainee that also involved two guards. That incident culminated with a futile effort to get medical help, the site reported.

Jail records show Foster was arrested and booked on Dec. 4 on charges of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and attempting to elude, TMZ reported, adding records show he was later rebooked on Dec. 5 on charges of simple assault and robbery.

Former Saints teammate Terron Armstead reacted to the news on Twitter, saying: “I really can’t find the words to properly express. Rest In Peace Glenn Foster, you’ll be missed bro!”

An official at the medical examiner’s office in Pickens County, Ala., said Foster died on Monday but provided no other details pending an investigation.

Foster reportedly stayed in the New Orleans area after his playing career ended, working as a developer, contractor and real estate agent. NOLA.com reported Foster had been balancing a decade-old bipolar diagnosis while forging careers in the NFL and as a business owner in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Foster’s family members told NOLA.com they believe officials delayed potentially life-saving care for him, despite knowing he had been in a series of fights and appeared to be experiencing a mental-health episode.

“We want justice for our son,” Foster’s father, Glenn Foster Sr., told NOLA.com. “It’s unfair. It’s inhumane. It’s just not right.”

Last month, Foster reportedly spoke at Mount Carmel High School, telling students how he was initially cut when he first tried out for football but lifted weights and studied the sport until he became a varsity starter in high school.

That led to a scholarship to play college football at Illinois. During his junior year, his girlfriend became pregnant, and he was suspended from his team because of a DUI.

“No matter how many times you get knocked down, whatever obstacle life puts in your way, and whatever choices you make, good or bad, you have to accept it, learn from it, and move on,” he said, according to a report from school’s newspaper, The Caravan.

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