Scenario bleak for NFL players in overturned boat

TAMPA, Fla. — Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after the fishing boat they were in overturned in rough water, possibly before rescuers were even alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according to Coast Guard records of the boating accident. In a 23-page report released Monday under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Coast Guard documents two conversations it had with Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player who was the lone survivor. Schuyler told them that one by one, the other men took off their life vests and disappeared during the ordeal. The report says the group went roughly 70 miles — or 62 nautical miles — to fish for amberjack on Feb. 28. Also onboard the 21-foot Everglades boat were Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who was a former University of Washington player, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former University of South Florida player William Bleakley. The men’s names were redacted in the report. Around 5:30 p.m., the report said the group ran into trouble: Their anchor was stuck. Schuyler told investigators that he believed it was caught in a coral reef. They tried to free it, but water filled the boat and it capsized. Tossed into the frigid waters, the men managed to grab their life vests. Schuyler said they held on to the boat for four hours. But as the night wore on, their resolve to hold on appears to have grown weaker and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting in. Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men “freaked out” and took off his life vest and disappeared that night. Another one of the men started getting unruly and throwing punches later. Schuyler told the Coast Guard the second man also took off his life jacket, dove under the water and was never seen again. The third man thought he saw land nearly two days after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it. Schuyler told investigators that man said his life jacket was too tight and he took it off. Officials have said that they eventually found three life jackets: one on Schuyler, another near the boat and a third underneath it. The bodies of the three who disappeared have not been found. It’s unclear how accurate the account is. Schuyler, who was found clinging to the overturned boat about 35 miles off Clearwater and nearly 48 hours after the accident, was suffering from hypothermia and he has provided different accounts to the men’s relatives. The family of William Bleakley, for example, said Schuyler told them that their son held on to the boat with his college teammate until he weakened and died. Schuyler has also said that Bleakley helped him survive, talking to him and encouraging him during their last night together. Marquis Cooper’s father has also questioned Schuyler’s account that his son removed his life jacket. As the men struggled in the water, their relatives grew worried. The group was expected home around sunset. One of the men’s family contacted the Coast Guard around 1:30 a.m. on March 1 and a search began. The Coast Guard records document their repeated attempts — and frustrations — as they tried to find the small white boat in a stormy sea with heavy cloud cover and whitecaps making it tough to spot the vessel. Initial information the Guard received indicated the men were en route to a dive wreck about 58 miles — roughly 50 nautical miles — from Clearwater Pass, Fla. One person who called the Coast Guard reported that one of the men, presumably Cooper, had one week left before he was expected in California for football practice. The caller, whose name was redacted from the report, said the group “could have possibly tried to go farther out to fish.” One of the men’s wives was able to find a handheld GPS device that he had left at home and had apparently used in previous trips to record the coordinates of favorite fishing spots. The Coast Guard used that data to refine their search, placing the likely location of the men about 10 nautical miles south of their expected destination. The Coast Guard contacted the men’s cell phone companies for help tracking their whereabouts, without success. They also sent them text messages, stating that, “the CG is looking for you request you to contact us immediately.” “Being that these guys are inexperienced, don’t look just at 50 NM offshore, there might be a possibility that they wisened up and stayed close to shore, at least within visual of land,” a Coast Guard officer wrote in one e-mail. The same e-mail added that, “It might be worth considering getting the story out to media earlier than later more people on the lookout both on land and water.”