NFL Boat Drowning Victim's Dad Slams Survivor

A little over a year ago, I posted a story and review of the book, 'Not Without Hope,'the story of Nick Schuyler and his three friends who perished at sea after a boating accident left them stranded on a day fishing in the Gulf of Mexico of the coast of Tampa, Florida. Schuyler's three friends included NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, as well as former South Florida college football player, Will Bleakley. All three friends drowned after spending too much time clinging to the overturned boat in the cold air and high seas. Schuyler miraculously managed to survive for over three days before he was rescued by the Coast Guard.

Now, Marquis Cooper's father is speaking out and disputing the facts that were written into the book, saying there's no way his son died in the manner that Schuyler detailed. In a story on ProFootballTalk,com, Bruce Cooper call the story, "...nothing but a big crock of bull." He bases his claims on the opinion that anyone who spends three days at sea and is rescued starving and dehydrated cannot clearly remember every specific fact as they actually happened over the course of their ordeal.

Most people clearly sympathize with the lost player's families, as these young men were in the prime of their lives, much less the best shape of their life as well. Losing a child or family member under these circumstances doesn't give them the closure that they need and to hear that there may have been inappropriate behaviors, including delusions and seasalt-affected insanity that led to their passing is not what they want to see published.

Hopefully, Bruce Cooper will find peace in the loss of his precious son, as will the other families. At the same time, Nick Schuyler might have survived, but he had to leave a piece of his life out there in the gulf, knowing he could have easily lost his life and now has to live with the memories of what he experienced.