“Glee” actress Naya Rivera was the sister of the former Tennessee football Volunteers tight end.
The body of Naya Rivera, sister of former Tennessee football tight end Mychal Rivera, has been recovered from Lake Piru five days after she went missing there. She was confirmed dead at age 33 by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Rivera was believed to have drowned in the Southern California lake after her four-year-old son was found alone sleeping on a rented boat last Wednesday, according to an AP report that came out last Thursday. The son reportedly told authorities that they went swimming and he got back on the boat, but his mom never made it out of the water.
Search operations for her continued throughout the weekend, even though she was presumed dead. Photos and video showed her family, including Mychal Rivera, also looking for her, which TMZ reported on Sunday.
Mychal Rivera was a junior college transfer who played tight end for Tennessee football under Derek Dooley from 2010 to 2012. He was a crucial part of that high-powered passing offense led by Jim Chaney in 2012, when he had 36 receptions for 562 yards and five touchdowns.
For his career, Rivera had over 1,000 receiving yards on Rocky Top. While he was there, Naya Rivera was still starring on “Glee,” where she was a cast member from 2009 to 2015. There was a heartwarming video that included her support for her brother in a feature that is on the University of Tennessee YouTube page. You can see that here.
After a productive career with Tennessee football, Rivera became a starter in the NFL. He spent four seasons with the Oakland Raiders and then signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars but never played there.
During his first two pro years, Rivera had 96 total receptions for 941 total receiving yards and eight total touchdowns. Obviously, this is a heartbreaking story for the former Vols tight end and his entire family. All of Rocky Top is torn up by this.