- 5/28/2025
From shocking murders to devastating assaults, the dark side of professional football has seen some truly disturbing cases. Join us as we examine the most notorious criminal cases involving NFL stars that shocked fans and changed the sport forever. These stories serve as sobering reminders of fame's darker side.
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00:00Ex-NFL player Lawrence Phillips soon became known more for his legal run-ins with the law
00:04than his time on the football field.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're examining infamous times when American NFL stars shocked
00:12us all with their involvement in terrible crimes. We'll be exploring incidents committed by both
00:18players while in the NFL and those who had already retired.
00:22I got punished for something that I did terribly wrong.
00:26Michael Vick. By 2007, the Atlanta Falcons star had participated in three Pro Bowls
00:34and was the first quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.
00:39Rick steps up, enters the red zone, inside the 15, the 10, turns the ball, dives, touchdown!
00:47The Giants defense, you can't play him in true man-to-man because you're turning your back to him.
00:52It just parts like the Red Sea in front of him.
00:54However, away from the gridiron, Vick was leading a dark life, causing his arrest the same year.
01:02The authorities had discovered that a dogfighting ring was based at his property in Surry County,
01:06Virginia, known as Bad News Kennels.
01:09Bad News Kennels was started as wanting to breed pit bulls with the patches and the ones that,
01:14you know, look pretty and show dogs and we was going to sell them. And it just went from one aspect to another.
01:24After pleading guilty, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail. As such, he was suspended indefinitely from the NFL and lost several endorsement deals.
01:35Upon Vick's release, the NFL rescinded the suspension, and he signed for the Philadelphia Eagles.
01:41He retired in 2017 and then began a coaching career.
01:45The best thing for me that ever happened to me in my life was me getting shipped off to Kansas, man.
01:53Because other than that, I wasn't going to change.
01:55Zach Stacey. As a running back for the then-named St. Louis Rams and New York Jets,
02:01Stacey had three seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2017.
02:06Stacey the catch and run for the touchdown.
02:10Zach Stacey into the end zone.
02:15Second touchdown of the night for the veteran Matt Flynn.
02:18In 2021, an online video exposed a terrible incident.
02:23Arriving at ex-partner Kristen Evans' house in Florida, Stacey was in a jealous rage.
02:29He struck her several times before tossing her into the TV.
02:33All of this was in front of their infant son.
02:36Stacey turned himself into police Thursday night after he learned of Warren out for his arrest.
02:41While Stacey left before the police arrived, the incident was captured on security cameras,
02:47which Evans released on social media.
02:49When he was arrested, Stacey claimed Evans had staged the attack.
02:54In 2023, after pleading guilty, the former NFL player was sentenced to six months in jail and a year of probation.
03:01The victim, Kristen Evans, asked the court to only sentence Stacey to probation,
03:06along with, you know, some counseling and other programs.
03:10But the state actually asked for a year in jail.
03:13So the judge decided to split the difference, landing on six months in jail, two years in probation,
03:19along with that counseling and other programs.
03:22Daryl Henley.
03:23As a consensus All-American, Henley joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1989 as a quarterback.
03:30However, in 1993, he was accused of operating an elaborate trafficking network by former Rams cheerleader Tracy Donahoe,
03:37who was herself arrested for substance couriering.
03:40In 1995, Henley was found guilty.
03:44However, as he was awaiting sentencing, Henley had smuggled in a cell phone to continue his operation.
03:49He then ordered the killing of Donahoe and the judge, Gary L. Taylor.
03:54Thankfully, neither were harmed by his actions.
03:58However, that didn't mean Henley wouldn't be punished.
04:01As a result of his crimes and agreeing to a plea bargain,
04:04in 1997, he was sentenced to a combined 41 years in jail.
04:09Darren Sharper.
04:10With a 14-year career that included playing safety for the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings,
04:16as well as winning a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints,
04:19Sharper had a legacy that any football fan would envy.
04:23Intercepted.
04:23Guess who?
04:24Darren Sharper.
04:25His ninth of the season.
04:27Shortly after retiring after the 2010 season,
04:30allegations came out that he and his friends had assaulted women.
04:34As more incidents came to light, with charges across Nevada, California, Louisiana, and Arizona,
04:41Sharper was arrested in 2014.
04:44They accused both men of using controlled and dangerous substances, drugs,
04:49with the intent to commit a crime of violence.
04:52In 2016, after pleading guilty to the various cases,
04:56Sharper was sentenced to a combined 20 years in prison.
04:59Despite his conviction, the once-respected icon is still eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,
05:05which has drawn heavy criticism.
05:07Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class 2017 were announced today,
05:12but one player on the list is raising some eyebrows.
05:15Tommy Cain.
05:16In 1988, Cain joined the Seattle Seahawks as a wide receiver.
05:21To be drafted by the NFL was a big deal.
05:24It was a validation of his life, and I think something that he was very, very proud of.
05:28To have that opportunity, he had the speed, he had the ability to vertical jump,
05:33and all the skills you want from an NFL wide receiver.
05:37Things got off to a rough start when he was sentenced to community service for assault in 1988.
05:43Then, before the 1993 season, injuries led to his departure.
05:47After a brief stint with the Toronto Argonauts, Cain retired from the sports.
05:52At the age of 30, Tommy Cain's career in professional football is over.
05:58I think he was dealing with that like any other athlete would deal with that.
06:01It's just like a boxer who's boxing and making millions of dollars.
06:04You've got the crowd screaming and yelling and all that, and then that's not happening anymore.
06:07In 2003, he was met at his mother's house in LaSalle, Quebec, Canada,
06:12by his estranged wife, Tamara Sheik, and Hilda St. Louis, a member of their church, to take Cain to rehab.
06:19Instead, after Sheik dismissed reconciliation, Cain brutally attacked her, resulting in Cain fatally stabbing Sheik.
06:28Due to claiming he didn't remember the attack and was suffering from depression,
06:31he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years.
06:36Tommy pleads guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, but he doesn't get off easy.
06:42He was given 18 years for manslaughter, which is really a very heavy sentence for manslaughter.
06:50That is the kind of sentence you would expect from basically a murder conviction.
06:55Ray Carruth.
06:56Signed as a first-round draft pick in 1997 for the Carolina Panthers,
07:00Carruth had a promising career as a wide receiver.
07:03At that point, you're looking at him like a Steve Smith was when he was young,
07:10and he came up on the scene, and you saw him develop through training camp,
07:15and you saw the talent, and you're like, oh, this guy's gonna be good.
07:18But his personal life would cause his downfall.
07:22In 1999, Carruth's eight-month pregnant partner, Cherica Adams, was shot in Charlotte, North Carolina.
07:29While injured, Adams called 911 and told them Carruth's car had stopped in front of hers,
07:35allowing another vehicle to pull up and fire at her.
07:38I wasn't actually originally assigned to the call itself, but I was close by, and I figured, why not?
07:44You know, it seemed like a simple accident.
07:47It ended up being far from that.
07:49Adams sadly didn't survive.
07:51While the baby made it and was born, he suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
07:56Carruth had organized the hit due to Adams refusing an abortion.
08:00In 2001, after being acquitted of murder, Carruth was sentenced for conspiracy and received 19 to 24 years.
08:08He was released in 2018.
08:11Wearing a full smile behind the barbed wire fence,
08:14Ray Carruth's walk to freedom was short and simple, unlike the days leading up to his conviction.
08:21Lawrence Phillips
08:21On top of three years in the NFL with multiple teams, Phillips also played in NFL Europe and the Canadian Football League as a running back in a seven-year professional career.
08:32Watch the lead block right there.
08:34Nice job out against Ron George.
08:36And that's full speed running by Lawrence Phillips.
08:41Phillips goes in for his fourth touchdown.
08:44However, during that time, his legacy was tainted with legal issues.
08:49Yet, in 2005, his reputation further plummeted to new deaths when various assault allegations caught up with him, leading to his arrest.
08:59However, in 2008, Phillips fell on hard times and was charged for assaulting his former girlfriend.
09:05In 2009, Phillips was given a combined sentence of 31 years.
09:09In 2015, his cellmate, Damian Soured, the cousin of former NFL player R.J. Soured, was found dead.
09:17It was soon discovered Soured, was murdered, leading to Phillips being arrested.
09:22In 2016, while awaiting trial, Phillips took his own life.
09:27Maybe he just felt, you know, he's been going to be accused of murder, spend the rest of his life in prison.
09:33Maybe he felt he just didn't have no hope no more.
09:36It just looks like he just lost all hope.
09:38Robert Rozier
09:39In 1979, Rozier joined the then-named St. Louis Cardinals.
09:44However, rumors about substance issues and crime hindered his development, leading to his joining the Canadian Football League.
09:52After a brief stint with the Oakland Raiders, Rozier's professional career was over.
09:57Soon, he fell in with a religious group, Nation of Yahweh.
10:00He is 33-year-old Robert Rozier, also known as Nariah Israel.
10:05He is a member of the Yahweh sect.
10:07In 1986, Rozier was arrested for two murders.
10:10After falling out with the Nation of Yahweh's leader, Yahweh ben Yahweh, Rozier turned state's evidence against him.
10:17Rozier pled guilty to four murders, earning him 22 years in jail.
10:22In 1996, he was released on parole.
10:25However, in 1999, Rozier was arrested for a bounced check.
10:30Due to California's three-strike policy, he was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life.
10:36Robert Rozier was sentenced to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to the secondary murders of four people.
10:43Aaron Hernandez
10:44Despite rumors of substance issues and off-field issues, Hernandez was signed by the New England Patriots as a tight end.
10:51In his three years in the National Football League, Aaron Hernandez has established himself as one of the game's best tight ends.
10:59Just as he'd been for Tim Tebow at the University of Florida, he became a key target for Tom Brady.
11:04His performances soon made him one of the league's biggest prospects.
11:08Yet, that changed in 2013, when he was arrested for the murder of semi-pro footballer Odin Lloyd.
11:14Allegedly, Hernandez may have shot Lloyd for fear of his bisexuality being leaked.
11:21In 2015, Hernandez was found guilty and sentenced to life.
11:25Aaron Hernandez is found guilty of murdering Odin Lloyd.
11:30You were sentenced by order of the court for the term of your natural life without the possibility of parole.
11:36In 2017, he was then acquitted of the 2012 murders of Daniel De Abreu and Zafiro Furtado.
11:44Days later, Hernandez took his own life.
11:47In the aftermath, his lawyer filed an appeal against the Lloyd conviction, which was granted, vacating the sentence.
11:54However, in 2019, the conviction was reinstated.
11:58It's important to note, while the conviction will stand now, the court record will say the conviction was never affirmed or reversed because the defendant died while the appeal was pending.
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12:22O.J. Simpson
12:25One of the most decorated players in NFL history, Simpson was a legend in the sport and also had a career as an actor.
12:34Every time he ran the ball, it was almost like the Bills equivalent of throwing the ball deep.
12:40It might not work, but if you made a mistake, they would score.
12:44However, in 1994, his reputation was tarnished when he was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
12:54While Simpson was acquitted, he was found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial in 1997 in order to pay $33.5 million.
13:04For the anguished families of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, this was justice.
13:08Our family is grateful for a verdict of responsibility, which is all we ever wanted.
13:19And we have it.
13:20Thank God.
13:21Then, in 2007, he was arrested for armed robbery of a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
13:27In 2008, after being found guilty, Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in jail.
13:33In 2017, he was released on parole before being completely discharged in 2021.
13:40He died in 2024.
13:42But in the end, at least publicly, O.J. Simpson felt content about his place in the world.
13:49Are there any other terrible crimes committed by NFL players that we missed?
13:53Let us know below.
13:54Ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. will spend 14 years in state prison.
13:59Did you enjoy this video?
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