Former Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III was found dead inside his Frisco apartment Wednesday, the team confirms.
The team told NBC 5 that Barber, 38, was found unresponsive. Further details are not yet known and a cause of death has not been provided.
Frisco police said Wednesday afternoon that officers were out on a welfare call at an apartment owned by Barber, but provided no other information about the person inside.
Barber, who would have turned 39 on June 10, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round in 2005 and spent six seasons in North Texas where his hard-hitting, punishing style of running earned him the nickname “Marion the Barbarian.”
After leaving Dallas, Barber would spend a year with the Chicago Bears before retiring from professional football.
Throughout his NFL career, Barber rushed for 4,780 yards on 1,156 attempts, an average of 4.1 yards per attempt, and scored 53 touchdowns on the ground. As a receiver, he caught 179 passes for 1,330 yards with six TDs.
Barber is the older brother of former Houston Texans safety Dominique Barber and former Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Thomas Barber. They are the sons of former NFL player Marion Barber Jr.
Barber was also known for his humanitarian efforts, working with his foundation and giving back to his community.
Joe Krywalski, a friend of Barber’s, told NBC 5 Wednesday that Barber was a great person and very generous. He said Barber was religious, played the piano and wanted to get into boxing.
Over the years Barber had several minor run-ins with the law and just last month had pleaded no contest to two 2018 charges of criminal mischief after he damaged two vehicles in separate incidents while jogging in Frisco. In 2014, when he lived in Mansfield, Barber was taken for a mental evaluation following an altercation outside a restaurant in which a car was damaged.
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