Editing Kevin Nash (section)

== Early life ==
Nash was born on July 9, 1959, to a devout [[Christians|Christian]] family in southwest [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6PEJe9BEL8C&pg=PA12|title=Kevin Nash|access-date=May 12, 2016|isbn=9780823934928|last1=Davies|first1=Ross|date=September 2001|publisher=Rosen Publishing }}</ref><ref name="Nash">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTfWE28MKsAC&q=kevin+nash+July+9,+1959+wrestling|title=Wrestling's Greatest Heroes and Villains|access-date=January 14, 2022|isbn=9780823934928|last1=Hofstede|first1=David|date=1999|publisher=ECW Press }}</ref> Nash's father, Robert, died of a heart attack on April 4, 1968, aged 36, when Nash was eight years old.<ref>November 19, 2009 episode of TNA Impact!, a conversation between Nash and [[Mick Foley]]</ref><ref>[http://www.kevinbigsexynash.com/kf080601.html Kevin's Forum]. Kevinbigsexynash.com. Retrieved on May 10, 2014. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060415025429/http://www.kevinbigsexynash.com/kf080601.html |date=April 15, 2006 }}</ref> On December 27, 1994, Nash's mother, Wanda, died after a four-year struggle against [[breast cancer]].<ref name="OWOW">{{cite web|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/k/kevin-nash.html|title=Kevin Nash's profile|publisher=Online World of Wrestling|access-date=August 18, 2009}}</ref> He attended [[Aquinas High School (Southgate, Michigan)|Aquinas High School]] and the [[University of Tennessee]], where he [[Academic major|majored]] in [[psychology]] and minored in [[philosophy of education|educational philosophy]].<ref name=Golianopoulos>{{cite web|url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8241536/wrestling-star-kevin-nash-making-headway-hollywood-keeps-night|author=Golianopoulos, Thomas|title=Kevin Nash's Next Angle|publisher=[[Grantland]]|access-date=October 2, 2012|date=August 7, 2012}}</ref> At the University of Tennessee, Nash was a [[center (basketball)|center]] for the [[Tennessee Volunteers basketball]] team. He remained on the team from 1977 to 1980, during which time the team made it to the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|Sweet 16]].<ref>Davies, Ross. ''Kevin Nash'', p.18</ref> Following a physical altercation with head coach [[Don DeVoe]] and a series of other on-campus incidents, Nash did not play a fourth year for the Volunteers,<ref name=Golianopoulos/><ref name=ross19>Davies, Ross. ''Kevin Nash'', p.19</ref> and he attempted to transfer to [[Bowling Green State University]] in [[Bowling Green, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Victor|last=Lee|title=Kevin Nash: It's A Blessing I'm Out|url=https://www.ddtdigest.com/features/nash0003.htm|newspaper=Nashville Banner|date=June 24, 1980|access-date=July 16, 2020}}</ref>

Nash reconsidered his options and instead moved to [[Europe]], where he played basketball professionally for various teams.<ref name="OWOW"/> His career ended just one year later in 1981 in Germany (while playing for the [[Gießen 46ers]]) when he tore his [[anterior cruciate ligament]].<ref name=ross19/> With his basketball career over, Nash enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Command|202nd Military Police Company]] in [[Giessen]], [[West Germany]]. He served in a secure NATO facility for two years, during which time he was promoted to the rank of [[Specialist (rank)|specialist]]. After the Army, he worked on an [[assembly line]] at [[Ford Motor Company]] and as the floor manager of a [[strip club]] in [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]]. He then decided to try professional wrestling.<ref name=Golianopoulos/><ref>Davies, Ross. ''Kevin Nash'', p.20–21.</ref>