Talley played 14 years in the NFL delivering vicious hits to anyone on the opposing team. His toughness was one of his best qualities on the field. He would refuse to come off the field if he was injured. He once had three surgeries performed on him at the same time. The effects of the game that he once loved now leave his family and himself in shambles.
On November 26th, 2014, Tim Graham a writer from Buffalo News released a story titled “Broke and Broken”. The story is a feature on Talley explaining the hardships that he is going through. When fans of the Buffalo Bills started reading the story about their former “superhero” player current situation they began to rally for him.
Buffalo is a blue-collar town where people bust their butt to earn everything they have. A city that has seen its effects of a broken economy has not had much to be excited about since the days when Talley was on the field. The Western New York region more importantly loves their Buffalo Bills, and they would do anything for that team.
When the story made the rounds on the Internet, an outcry of support began to happen for Talley and his family. Frank Thomas Croisdale is a lifelong Bills fan that went to the website www.gofundme.com in order to help Talley. With a goal set at $100,000 the great Buffalo Bills fans have been able to raise over $146,000 in five days. It is truly amazing to see the support that the Bills fan base has given to this family in less than a week. In the interview with Graham, Talley said “I’m not convinced that I’m dead yet. But the future doesn’t look too bright.” Hopefully with the support for Talley and the funds raised by his fans, his future will be a little brighter.
