Olympic gold medallist wrestler Dave Schultz was shot dead by his billionaire coach John Du Pont on January 26, 1996, at his home on the Foxcatcher estate in Pennsylvania. The murder ended a relationship that had once made Schultz Du Pont's prize athlete and sent shockwaves through the American sporting community.
The story began in the 1980s when Mark Schultz, Dave's brother, received an invitation to join John Du Pont's newly formed wrestling academy and training facility, Team Foxcatcher, at the Du Pont family mansion. Bankrolled by his family, the cutting-edge complex at Du Pont's Pennsylvania home lured in Olympic hopefuls wanting World Championship glory. Du Pont poured millions into the US wrestling team, according to All That's Interesting.
A Troubled Upbringing
Du Pont had a difficult childhood. The Du Ponts raised thoroughbred horses on their 800-acre farm in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, where a young Du Pont was left to his own devices. His father was rarely at home and his siblings ignored him. The only friend he thought he had was the son of his chauffeur, but he later found out his mother had paid the boy to pretend to like him.
Du Pont earned a doctorate in natural sciences and founded the Delaware Museum of Natural History, but still unhappy, he turned to wrestling. He had tried other sports, even landing a spot on the Pentathlete 1976 Olympic team. He had lost both testicles after an injury in a horse riding accident, and contact sports like wrestling were banned for him as a boy. Some say his injury was the reason for his crippling insecurity, but Du Pont would not let it stop him from being involved in some way.
The Rise of Team Foxcatcher
In 1985, he opened a 14,000-square-foot training centre on his family's estate, which he renamed Foxcatcher Farms. With the help of his money, Du Pont finally found community and belonging, and he was determined to build a team of Olympic champions. His first hire was Olympian Mark Schultz, whom he paid $70,000 to train his team. Then, following considerable coaxing, Mark recruited his champion sibling, Dave, into the venture, securing international triumph as Team Foxcatcher.
“We were his newest trophies,” Mark said. Dave was ultimately a seven-time World and Olympic medalist - Du Pont's prize possession. “There was no one else who carried himself like Dave. He was an ambassador for the sport, a one of a kind [and] someone a lot of people called ‘friend’,” said Kevin Jackson, world and Olympic champion. “If it wasn't for Dave being at Foxcatcher, nobody else would have gone. He was a legend, just one of the best wrestlers in the world at the time,” Kevin added.
Descent into Madness
Then disaster struck and Du Pont descended into madness. The coach insisted he could see Disney characters hiding on his property or trees uprooting themselves and marching around. He opened fire on a flock of geese because he became convinced that they were using dark magic against him, and he removed all treadmills from the gym because he thought they were turning back time. He became paranoid and thought he was being spied on. He was allegedly drinking a lot and using cocaine. Disturbingly, he kicked Kevin and two other wrestlers out, declaring that Foxcatcher was now a “KKK” organization.
He then pulled a machine gun on Dan Chaid. Dan said: “I was working out in the weight room. du Pont came in and pulled a gun on me and said ‘Don’t you **** with me, I want you off the farm’ in a very aggressive way. I could tell he wasn’t in the right state of mind. I cowered to him just enough to get him to back off. Then he left. I told local police. The next day I went to the local courthouse, put in a report there, then the county courthouse. He was definitely getting closer and closer to doing something where somebody was going to get hurt.”
Dave's friend Mike Gostigian said Dave was the only one who had a hope of saving Du Pont. Mike said: “Dave was the person closest to John. He was a calming influence, a confidant. But Dave wasn’t a yes man. If John said he saw things coming out of the walls, Dave said nothing was coming out of the walls. I think John might have harbored some delusional fear of him.”
The Murder and Aftermath
No one knows exactly why Du Pont shot Dave. On January 26, 1996, at 2:00 PM, Du Pont grabbed a .44 magnum and ordered his security consultant Patrick Goodale to drive him to Dave's house. Dave's last words were “Hi boss!”, with a wave at his friend. His coach pointed the gun at his head and screamed, “You got a problem with me?”. He opened fire, shooting Dave dead on the spot, then drove off. When the 9-1-1 operator asked why Du Pont had done it, Dave's wife Nancy simply replied: “Because he's insane!”
For two days, 70 police officers and a SWAT team tried to coax the man out of his home - eventually turning off the heating, which flushed Du Pont out. Du Pont was later convicted of third-degree murder, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and died in prison in 2010.
While the reason behind the killing was never fully understood, speaking to LAist, Mark said: "He admired us and at the same time was jealous of us, kind of hated us in a way, because we had what money couldn't buy. I regret that my brother died, and I regret that I met du Pont, but had it not been for these horrible curses, this movie would not be made, and Dave would not be immortalised."
Just four years after Du Pont's death, Hollywood adapted the story for cinema, featuring a chilling and unsettling performance by Steve Carell, who takes on the role of the millionaire killer. Beside him, Channing Tatum gained weight to play the younger Mark Schultz, while Mark Ruffalo delivered an Oscar-nominated performance as his doomed older brother Dave. The film won awards at Cannes and received five Oscar nominations.
