Sudden Death Overtime

[June 14th, 2006] Long before Barry Bonds ever denied taking steroids, one pro athlete came clean.

Lyle Alzado, a 15-year All-Pro defensive lineman in the NFL, confessed to ESPN in July 1991 that he relied on steroids and human growth hormone.

Alzado—a fan favorite for his ferocity when he played in Denver, Cleveland and Los Angeles—died 10 months later in Portland of brain lymphoma, a rare cancer he attributed to years of steroid abuse.

And 14 years after his death, Alzado's story continues in Clackamas County, where judge pro tem William Keller has much to sort out with Alzado's estate in the coming weeks.

Alzado spent his final days in Oregon because he was getting treatment at OHSU for his brain cancer and because his fourth wife, whom he married one month before his cancer diagnosis in 1991, was from Lake Oswego.

As part of Alzado's final contract with the Raiders, his estate gets $75,000 annually until 2023 with a balloon payment of $1.5 million to come in 2024. But several creditors want Alzado's fourth wife and estate representative, Kathy Davis Murray, to cash out now to pay their claims.

Alzado's first wife, Cynthia, has claims totaling $211,000 in unpaid spousal and child support for the two years before Alzado died, and for future child support due Alzado's son Justin, who was 9 when his father died.

Cynthia Alzado and Alzado's brother Peter both have criticized Murray as the estate's personal representative, saying she forced him to change his will just before he died to benefit her.

"He died in the arms of strangers," says Peter Alzado.

The IRS also claims back taxes and penalties of $175,000 from the estate, and the state of California seeks $155,000 in delinquent taxes and penalties.

Stoel Rives, the Portland law firm representing Murray, claims the largest sum due: more than $437,000. Murray's Stoel Rives attorney, Stephen Griffith, says his client loved Alzado and doesn't want to cash out the contract because it won't bring full value. He says Stoel Rives is not arguing for liquidation even though it would be paid immediately from the proceeds.

Court documents filed in 2005 list estate assets at nearly $1.5 million, which include small residuals and royalties from movies Alzado appeared in such as Ernest Goes to Camp. The estate's liabilities are estimated at about $1.2 million and growing due to interest and late fees.