Michael Anthony Frier (March 20, 1969 – December 31, 2015) was a former American football defensive end/defensive tackle in the National Football League. He played collegiately at Appalachian State University and professionally with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks. Early life Frier was born on March 20, 1969, to Beatrice Poindexter, a single mother who was unable to care for him on her own, so she placed him in the care of Ann and Ulysses Frier, who would adopt him as their child. Frier still kept in touch with Poindexter throughout the course of his life. College career Frier attended Appalachian State University on a four-year football scholarship. His academic struggles early on, almost made him ineligible to play on the football team. In order to pick his grades up, Frier attended summer classes. Despite his best efforts, Frier was forced to sit out his senior season as a result of being academically ineligible. The move lowered his draft stock and he was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 1992 NFL Draft. Professional career Frier attended the Seahawks training camp at the start of the 1992 NFL season, but failed to crack the roster and was waived by the club, and was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals that season, where he would start in three games for the team. The following season, Frier would start in six games for the Bengals. Frier's tenure with the club was described as being hostile at best, from butting heads with the coaching staff to his indifference towards the team. Frier was suspended four games without pay, after he made an unexcused absence from a team practice. One game prior to his suspension being lifted, Frier was released from the Bengals on October 12, 1994. Frier returned to the Seahawks on November 2, 1994, following an injury to Tyrone Rodgers. Although Frier failed to record a tackle in his first couple games with the club, his performance on the field garnered the attention of the team's coaching staff. Frier's return to the Seahawks was seen as a homecoming of sorts, as he had put roots down in the area prior to his release. Career ending injury On December 1, 1994, Frier and teammates Lamar Smith and Chris Warren were involved in a collision in Kirkland, Washington, in which Smith's vehicle crashed into a utility pole. Smith