Police were investigating whether Tisson got into a fight at Tropiks, the Utica Ave. nightspot where he and teammates went to party.
They were also looking into whether the violence was sparked by something that happened during the Digicel Caribbean Cup, which is being held in Brooklyn.
Tisson led St. Lucia to an improbable 1-0 victory Sunday over St. Kitts-Nevis, sending his team to the finals of the tournament, where it will play Jamaica.
While celebrating at Tropiks, Tisson did not drink but was the toast of the party.
“He went back and forth to the deejay getting shoutouts to himself,” Justin said. “How he scored the winning goal, how Jamaica best beware. Things like that. Maybe somebody was angry about that.”
Teammate Simon Polius, 32, said Tisson had been threatened about his relationship with Justin.
“One day somebody told him, ‘If you don’t leave her alone’ he would kill him,” Polius said. “She had a boyfriend back home.”
Justin, a schoolteacher in St. Lucia, insisted she and Tisson were just childhood friends and there was no former boyfriend in the wings.
Relatives said Tisson was a dedicated soccer player well-known in his country. He was unmarried with a 3-year-old daughter and had been in New York since May for the tournament.
“I feel that my whole world is falling apart,” his mother, Rosleyn Tisson, said by phone. “He was very serious about what he was doing.”
“It’s a day of mourning in St. Lucia,” said Tisson’s cousin Dani Hippolyte. “Everybody was rooting for him.”
A center-forward and substitute on St. Lucia’s national team in its 2010 World Cup qualifying attempt, Tisson was the team’s top scoring threat, said coach Martin Daniel.
“It was only the second time in 16 years that St. Lucia has made it to the finals [of the Digicel tournament],” Daniel said.
The match at Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York ended about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, and the team stayed around to watch Jamaica beat Barbados.
The players celebrated at the team clubhouse on Ralph Ave. before heading to the club.
Daniel said he could not imagine Tisson getting into a fight.
“He is very tall and big and gentle as a teddy bear,” he said. “Everyone is surprised.”
He said the team planned to compete in the final in honor of their fallen teammate.
“He loved soccer. By playing we would be doing what we could do best to honor him,” Daniel said.
More On Bossip!
THICKER!: Beyonce’s Whitney Houston Halo Intro Tribute For “Live At The Revel” Performances [Video]
Road Rage! Celebrities That Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Drive
Turning In That V-Card: When Did Your Favorite Celebrities Lose Their Virginities?
Dirty Dog Diaries: A Gallery Of Men That Left That A$$ For A White Girlllllll
Rumor Control: Did Trey Songz Smack One Of The Kardashians?!
