An autopsy found no natural cause for the death of former Oakland Raiders lineman
John Matuszak, whose ferocious play on and off the football field epitomized the team's "outlaw" image.Forensic pathologist Susan Selser ordered lab testing for the presence of possibly toxic substances after determining on Sunday that Matuszak's heart attack could not be explained by natural causes, coroner's supervisor Claude Boucher said.
A natural heart attack is obvious "right away" during the autopsy, Boucher said Sunday evening. "That was not the case" with Matuszak, who died Saturday night at age 38.
Sharon Farrell, a friend who said she spoke with Matuszak about an hour before he was rushed to the hospital, told KABC-TV: "He was just kind of ranting and raving. He sounded like he'd had a couple of drinks, you know."
Another former Raiders defensive lineman, Lyle Alzado, who joined the team after Matuszak had retired and the team had moved from Oakland to Los Angeles, speculated that drugs might have contributed to Matuszak's death.
"John had a problem with drugs, which was publicly known, it was written in the papers," Alzado said Sunday. "But I don't know to what extent, what boundary he crossed over and what he decided to experiment with or how."
Farrell's husband, Dale Trevillion, said the ex-football player was upset over his inability to gain leading roles in Hollywood.