Former Super Bowl champion-turned-high school principal Riddick Parker has died.
He was 49 years old.
Parker, who played for not only the Seattle Seahawks, but also the New England Patriots during their 2001 Super Bowl win, died while he was riding his bicycle, but the exact circumstances have not been released, WTVR reported.
Parker’s death was confirmed by Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras via Twitter, WWBT reported.
I’m absolutely devastated to share that Riddick Parker, Principal of George Wythe HS, has passed away. Mr. Parker gave his FULL heart & soul to the students of Wythe and will be dearly missed. Details are forthcoming on a memorial service. Please keep his family in your prayers.
— Jason Kamras (@JasonKamras) August 19, 2022
Parker was a defensive tackle in the NFL for seven years, from 1997 to 2003, WTVR reported.
He took his cues for school leadership from his time on the gridiron.
“Game day is a testing day. So, when we get down to the nine-week assessments, we get down to SOL (standards of learning) assessments; to us, that’s our Super Bowl,” Parker said when WTVR spoke to him when he was an assistant principal at Armstrong High School in 2019. “Teaching is coaching. You’re looking at when you’re doing wrong, what you can improve upon and then putting together a game plan in place to make sure that happens.”
Parker, who was orignally fromj Emporia, Virginia and went to school at the University of North Carolina, was the current principal at George Wythe High School in Richmond, Virgina, according to WTVR.
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