DETROIT – Former NFL quarterback Erik Kramer shot himself on Tuesday night in a suicide attempt, but survived, according to NBC News.
Kramer's former wife, Marshawn Kramer, told NBC News Wednesday night that it was a suicide attempt, and said Kramer suffered years of depression that she believes was the result of his time in the NFL.
"I was driving when I got the news about Erik and almost had to pull over," Lomas Brown said. "I was so shocked. First Charlie, then Mel, now Erik. Something is going on with our family."
Kramer spent 10 seasons in the NFL. His ex-wife Marshawn told NBC news that Erik has been depressed ever since he retired.
"He is a very amazing man, a beautiful soul, but he has suffered depression since he was with the Bears," Marshawn Kramer said in a telephone interview. "I can promise you he is not the same man I married."
He's also been dealing with the loss of a son, Griffen, who overdosed on drugs in 2011.
"I asked about that and he said he was coping," Brown said. "You never get over that, but you cope. It's all you can do."
Brown said he saw Kramer in 2015 and he seemed to be doing well. He said he can't say for sure what made Erik do what he did, but head trauma in the NFL is real and so are the after-effects.
"There are so many guys who go through something after their playing days are over, whether it be depression, or otherwise," Brown said. "As a team and as a family, we have to embrace Erik.
The extent of Erik's injuries has not been disclosed. Police said it was a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.