Veteran NFL Writer Don Banks Dies Shortly After Covering Pro Football HOF Inductions

CANTON, OH. (THECOUNT) — Longtime NFL writer, Don Banks, has died after covering the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, Ohio. He was 56.

The longtime NFL writer who worked at Sports Illustrated for over 15 years, was pronounced dead by Paramedics on Sunday who were called to his hotel on reports of a man down.

Banks covered pro football for more than three decades. He recently was hired by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to oversee coverage of the Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas next year. His first story for the newspaper was published Sunday, hours before his death, reports Pro32.

“Banks was an NFL lifer,” his former boss at Sports Illustrated, Peter King, wrote in tribute. “At SI, his ‘Snap Judgments’ column on Sunday evenings became appointment reading for NFL fans.”

Banks also worked for Bleacher Report, the New England Patriots website and The Athletic. He was a longtime voter for The Associated Press NFL individual awards and All-Pro team. Review-Journal executive editor Glenn Cook called Banks a “sports writing institution.”

Banks is survived by his wife, Alissa, and sons Matt and Micah from a previous marriage.

His newspaper said funeral arrangements are pending.

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