Longtime NFL writer for Sports Illustrated and other publications
Don Banks, a longtime NFL writer who worked at Sports Illustrated for 16 years, died Aug. 4 after covering the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, Ohio. He was 57.
Paramedics on Aug. 4 were called to his hotel, where he was pronounced dead. No cause was given.
Mr. Banks covered pro football for more than three decades. He recently was hired by the Las Vegas Review- Journal to oversee league coverage. The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas next year. His first story for the newspaper was published hours before his death.
Mr. Banks first broke into journalism as a clerk at the then- St. Petersburg Times while he was attending the University of South Florida and had his first byline in the newspaper in 1982. He started covering the Buccaneers and the NFL for the Times in the early 1990s, and eventually moved on to the Minneapolis Star- Tribune as the Vikings beat writer.
His profile grew nationally when he was hired by Sports Illustrated in 2000, and for more than 16 years wrote the popular “Snap Judgments’’ column every Sunday night during the NFL season.
After a stint at Patriots. com, Mr. Banks was recently lured back to newspapers as the Review- Journal was beginning a push to increase its NFL coverage in anticipation of the Raiders’ impending move next year.
“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.”
“Don was one of the alltime good guys,’’ said former Times sports editor Mike Stephenson. “He was dedicated to his craft and treated everyone with respect whether they were a famous athlete, or a low- level reporter. I’m devastated for his family and friends and hold them in my thoughts.’’
Mr. 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 Mr. Banks a “sports writing institution.”
“No NFL journalist commanded more respect,” he said. “The sport has lost one of its finest storytellers.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick expressed condolences on behalf of the organization. He described Mr. Banks as “very professional, very passionate.”
“I just had a lot of respect for the way he did his job,” he said at a news conference.
Mr. Banks is survived by his wife, Alissa, and sons Matt and Micah from a previous marriage.
His newspaper said funeral arrangements are pending.