College athlete — brother of NFL player — shot and paralyzed in MN, dad says
A college football player was shot outside a Minnesota home, paralyzing him and ending his football dreams, according to local authorities and the victim’s father.
Michael Blidi Jr., who earned a scholarship to continue his football career at Iowa Central Community College, was shot May 29 in Brooklyn Park, police said.
“According to the victim, he was standing on the sidewalk when a vehicle stopped, the suspect got out of the vehicle, fired a single shot, and struck him in the abdomen,” the Brooklyn Park Police Department said in a Facebook post.
The accused gunman fled, police said, and no arrests have been announced as of June 4.
“Thursday night, our son fell victim to gun violence, sustaining a gunshot wound that has shattered our family,” the victim’s father, Michael Blidi Sr., said in a Facebook post. “His football career has been abruptly terminated.”
A standout at Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania, according to PennLive.com, Blidi Jr. was a member of the Stonehill College football team in Massachusetts during his freshman season.
Set to transfer, Blidi Jr. has now been told he will not walk again, his father said in a GoFundMe.
“His dream was terminated by a gunshot wound to his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the knee down,” according to Blidi Sr., who described his son as “a loving child full of life.”
Emilio Diaz, a former high school teammate of Blidi Jr., described him to PennLive as a “genuine kid” who “devoted himself to wanting to get better.”
“I’m glad to know he is alive right now and his medical team is doing everything they can to keep him alive and on this earth,” he told the publication. “I’m a faithful young man. This is a horrible tragedy, but it can lead to a larger triumph because I know Mike, and if he can do everything that he can, there’s no doubt God has something planned for him, and I know that he is capable of more.”
Blidi Jr. is the brother of former Auburn University defensive tackle Philip Blidi, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans in April.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM with the headline "College athlete — brother of NFL player — shot and paralyzed in MN, dad says."