LI Football Star, Former NFL Starter Dies Suddenly At 40

LAWRENCE, NY — A standout football player at Lawrence High School, Shane Olivea rose to the ranks of the NFL. He died this month. Olivea was 40.

No cause of death has been given.

Olivea, who was born in Long Beach, was a two-time all-state selection at Lawrence, SI.com reported.

The offensive tackle graduated in 2000 and was then on the starting squad all three seasons at Ohio State University.

The NFL came calling next.

Olivea was a seventh-round selection of the San Diego Chargers in the 2004 draft. He started 57 games over the next four seasons.

In 2008, he was on the Giants practice squad and appeared in the USFL for a pair of teams in the early 2010s.

Olivea was addicted to painkillers over years, the LI Herald reported, he would take as many as 125 Vicodin pills daily.