Dead Man Attended Underwood Church

A young man found dead last week in a cooler in a Michigan State dorm basement in Lansing, Mich., attended the same church as Dimitrius Underwood, the NFL player who slashed his own neck after repeatedly yelling, “I’m not worthy of God.”

Detectives who spoke this week to friends of Neftali Valdez Greene Jr. found that the 23-year-old had attended Immanuel’s Temple Community Church in Lansing for about a year, said Capt. Tony Kleibecker, spokesman for Michigan State University police.

Underwood’s mother, an ordained minister, said this week that the church her son attended was a “cult that’s posing as a church.”

The Rev. Phillip Owens of Immanuel’s Temple said Underwood had attended his church on and off for about a year. He denied the cult accusation.

On Friday, Owens refused to discuss Greene’s affiliation with his church. It was not immediately clear if Underwood knew Greene.

Underwood, a 22-year-old former Michigan State defensive end who has wavered between football and his religion in his brief NFL career, was found Sunday severely bleeding on a Lansing street after slashing his neck. He was released from Sparrow Hospital on Thursday and was taken to an inpatient mental health clinic, which was not identified.

Underwood, in a statement released through his agent, said Friday he has drawn strength from his family and faith.

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The Cleveland Browns put safety Tim McTyer on the injured reserve list, meaning he will sit out the rest of the season. McTyer, who started the first two games, suffered a broken left forearm two weeks ago in a 26-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

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A hyperextended elbow will sideline rookie running back Ricky Williams of the New Orleans Saints for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears “unless there’s an unbelievable change,” Coach Mike Ditka said.

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Quarterback Chris Chandler of the Atlanta Falcons is not expected to play Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens after re-aggravating a strained hamstring last week, the team said.

Tony Graziani probably will get the start and try to prevent the Falcons from dropping to 0-4.