Najai Turpin Biography (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Najai Turpin
Profile
Born	19th December, 1981
Birthplace	Philadelphia, USA
Nationality	American
Died	13th February, 2005
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Nickname	Nitro
Classification	Light/Middleweight
Boxing Record
Fights	13
Wins (KOs)	11 (8)
Losses	2
Draws	0
Contender Results
First Round	Lost to Mora on points

Najai Turpin (December 19, 1981 – February 14, 2005) was a professional boxer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

He was a contestant on reality TV show The Contender. On the show, he was placed on the East Coast team and pitted himself against Sergio Mora, a man seven inches taller than him, in the first round. Mora would go on to become The Contender.

He committed suicide on February 14th, 2005, while sitting in a car with his girlfriend and 2-year-old daughter. The motive for his suicide was not entirely clear. However, the fact that he had not been allowed to fight between the time of his elimination from the Contender and the show's finale, along with the low self-esteem that may have resulted from his defeat on the show may have contributed to his suicide. Another contributing factor is considered to be the ongoing custody battle for his daughter.

Turpin was the first American reality show contestant to take his own life, but there have been examples elsewhere in the world. In 1997, Sinisa Savija, the first person voted off the island on Expedition Robinson (the Swedish predecessor to Survivor) killed himself immediately after he was voted off. Najai Turpin's initials were inprinted on Ishe Oluwa Ali Smith's shorts during a match. Sergio Mora thanked him for getting the chance to win a million dollars.

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