Report: Former Nebraska, NFL DB Rickey Thenarse shot in dispute involving girlfriend, second man

Former Nebraska football player Rickey Thenarse, who briefly played for the Seattle Seahawks, was reportedly shot in the stomach in South Los Angeles last Friday and rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, according to TMZ Sports. Thenarse received immediate medical attention and “is expected to be okay,” per TMZ.

While there isn’t much in the way of facts regarding what led to Thenarse’s shooting, the former Huskers defensive back was “in the middle of a love triangle involving his girlfriend and the father of her child, which seems to have come to a head last week,” according to TMZ. Citing law enforcement sources, TMZ also reports a man and woman were seen leaving the scene of the shooting.

No arrests have been made and Los Angeles detectives are still investigating, per TMZ.

Thenarse appeared in 56 career games at Nebraska, including 10 starts, between 2006-10, where he accumulated 106 total tackles, 8 for loss, six forced fumbles, three interceptions and two sacks during his time in Lincoln. After going unselected in the 2011 NFL Draft, Thenarse signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent and appeared in three preseason games before being cut in August of that year. That was the end of his NFL career.

The 37-year-old Thenarse is originally from the Los Angeles area and was a Top 100 recruit in the 2006 recruiting according to the ESPN 150, according to his Nebraska player profile. Thenarse earned first-team all-state and all-city honors as a senior at David Starr Jordan High (Los Angeles, Cal.) in 2005, where he accumulated more than 2,500 total yards and 16 combined touchdowns as both a running back and returner. Defensively, he tallied 153 tackles and one interception in 2005 and chose to play at Nebraska over interest from USC, UCLA, Cal, Colorado, Fresno State, Oregon and Washington.