Blenda Gay
Encyclopedia
Blenda Glen Gay was a defensive end
in the National Football League
. He played three seasons in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers
and Philadelphia Eagles
and is notable for his 1976 murder by his wife Roxanne.
in Farmville, North Carolina
. After high school he attended Fayetteville State University
in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There he started on the football team winning all-CIAA
and Division II All-American
.
Gay was drafted in the 1973 NFL supplemental draft
by the Oakland Raiders
but was cut in training camp. He was picked up in 1974 by the San Diego Chargers and saw action in two games. He had also played for a semi-pro football team called the Model City Diplomats for $75 per game.
In 1975, Gay was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles where he became a regular fixture on the defensive line for two seasons. Gay played in every regular season game for the Eagles in both 1975 and 1976.
district attorney
. Roxanne claimed that the attack on her husband was purely self-defense and alleged that her husband was extremely violent and abusive. Camden
police indicated that she had made over 20 calls to the police in three and a half years. Neighbors claimed that after an Eagles' loss, Gay "bounced his wife off the walls". His wife had signed a complaint against Gay after one hospital stay, but later dropped the complaint.
The case became a cause celebre
for the feminist movement due to the allegations of long-term domestic violence
. Gloria Steinem
and Ms. magazine
helped raise money for her defense. Ms. Magazine alleged that when Roxanne called the police, officers would often discuss football with Blenda.
A panel of psychiatrists in a sanity hearing found that Blenda Gay had not abused his wife and Roxanne Gay's attorney admitted that there was no evidence that the beatings had occurred. Ultimately, Roxanne Gay was determined to be schizophrenic and confined to a the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. All charges were dropped. She was released in 1980.
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He played three seasons in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and is notable for his 1976 murder by his wife Roxanne.
Biography
Blenda Gay attended H. B. Sugg High SchoolH. B. Sugg High School
H.B. Sugg High School was a top K-12 educational institution founded in 1903, based at S. George St., Farmville, NC. It was closed on July 4, 1999.-Academic:...
in Farmville, North Carolina
Farmville, North Carolina
Farmville is a town in Pitt County, North Carolina, eight miles to the west of Greenville, North Carolina. According to a census taken in 2008 the estimated population is 4,615...
. After high school he attended Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University is a historically black, regional university located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. FSU is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.-Academics:The primary...
in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There he started on the football team winning all-CIAA
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association is a college athletic conference, mostly consisting of historically black colleges and universities. Recent addition Chowan University is the first non-HBCU to play in the conference. Conference teams participate in the NCAA's Division II...
and Division II All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
.
Gay was drafted in the 1973 NFL supplemental draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
but was cut in training camp. He was picked up in 1974 by the San Diego Chargers and saw action in two games. He had also played for a semi-pro football team called the Model City Diplomats for $75 per game.
In 1975, Gay was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles where he became a regular fixture on the defensive line for two seasons. Gay played in every regular season game for the Eagles in both 1975 and 1976.
Murder
In December, 1976, Roxanne Gay cut her husband's throat as he slept, killing him. She was charged with the murder by the Camden County, New JerseyCamden County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census the population of Camden County was 60.28% Non-Hispanic white, 18.45% Non-Hispanic black, 1.12% Hispanic blacks, 0.17% Non-Hispanic Native American, 0.15% Hispanic Native Americans, 5.07% Non-Hispanic Asian, and 0.14% non-Hispanics reporting some other race...
district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. Roxanne claimed that the attack on her husband was purely self-defense and alleged that her husband was extremely violent and abusive. Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
police indicated that she had made over 20 calls to the police in three and a half years. Neighbors claimed that after an Eagles' loss, Gay "bounced his wife off the walls". His wife had signed a complaint against Gay after one hospital stay, but later dropped the complaint.
The case became a cause celebre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
for the feminist movement due to the allegations of long-term domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
and Ms. magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
helped raise money for her defense. Ms. Magazine alleged that when Roxanne called the police, officers would often discuss football with Blenda.
A panel of psychiatrists in a sanity hearing found that Blenda Gay had not abused his wife and Roxanne Gay's attorney admitted that there was no evidence that the beatings had occurred. Ultimately, Roxanne Gay was determined to be schizophrenic and confined to a the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. All charges were dropped. She was released in 1980.