Aaron Hernandez: Not The Only Criminal From The NFL
The NFL has offered us some great moments in our lives. From the Immaculate Reception to Hugh McElhenny running 77 yards without a helmet, the NFL has given us memories that we will never forget. But out of the pack, it has also given us a few criminals.
Other than O.J. Simpson, Aaron Hernandez is arguably the most famous of all the NFL players who have committed crimes and been sent to prison for them. There are two NFL players right now who are facing long prison sentences. But the law is that they are innocent until proven guilty. So for now, they’re not going to be listed here.
Aaron Hernandez; Is The NFL To Blame?
Aaron Hernandez played for the Patriots when it was stacked with talents, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. So, how is it that he came to commit suicide in a prison cell in 2017?
After guards found him unresponsive in his prison cell, more information started to come out about him. Of course, he’s not here to defend himself so what are you to believe? It appears that Hernandez has been hiding his homosexuality since high school, and he was good at keeping it a secret. His high school lover has come out to discuss his relationship with the former New England Patriot’s tight end. His lover in prison has also come out to discuss their relationship.
It appears Hernandez didn’t want anyone to know about his sexual relationship with Odin Lloyd. That’s not a hard fact, but the story follows that could be the motive for Hernandez to murder his once friend. In posthumous studies into his mind, he has been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). It’s associated with dementia, violence, and depression. It’s also a disease some football players develop after taking so many hits.
Anthony Smith, After The NFL
Anthony Smith was drafted to the Raiders in 1990 and was off to a good start. Then, he surprised everyone when he simply retired in 1997 and left the NFL forever. But fans would soon find out that Smith was leading an entirely different life and the facts of the case are these.
In November of 1999, Smith dressed up as a police officer and kidnapped brothers Ricky and Kevin Nettles from their carwash business. But he was far from done. In 2001, he kidnapped Dennis Henderson and stabbed him 40 times before he left him to be found in his rental. These murders finally caught up to Smith when he was sentenced in 2015 to three life sentences without any hope of parole.
Eric Naposki And The Evil Scheme
Eric Naposki played for the Patriots and the Colts in his short and unimpressive NFL career. But he’ll go down in history as a murderer. Two people actually deserved to go down for this one because Naposki conspired with Nanette Johnston to kill millionaire investor William “Bill” McLaughlin so that she could collect on his insurance and life savings.

When McLaughlin met Johnston, he was going through a tumultuous divorce. Johnston weaseled her way into his life taking full advantage of his emotional state. She moved in with him and started taking over the finances and that’s when the story gets totally twisted. With McLaughlin as her sugar daddy, she was also in a relationship with Naposki. But it wasn’t a crime of passion that took place. It was planned and it almost worked.
Naposki shot and killed McLaughlin in his Newport Beach home in 1994. He and Johnston lived it up for a few years, but they finally got their’s when Naposki was found guilty in 2011 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Johnston was sentenced to the same thing and they are both currently in prison, eating prison food and most likely in new relationships.
Daryll Henley Went Wild On His Case
Daryll Henley played for the Rams from 1989 to 1994. But his career was thrown down the drain when he was convicted of drug trafficking in 1995. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and would have been out by now, but that’s not where the story ends. Facing sentencing, Henley got on a smuggled phone in jail and ordered up a hitman to kill the judge and a witness. He plead guilty and 21 years were added to his sentence.
Kellen Winslow II, for Sexual Offenses
Kellen Winslow II was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2004 and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. But this guy was totally sick. He was a sexual predator who exposed himself to a 77-year-old woman and a 57-year-old neighbor. But his crimes escalated from there when he raped a homeless lady. His 14-year sentence includes convictions for forcible rape, assault with intent to commit rape, rape of an unconscious person, and lewd conduct in public.
The Infamous O.J. Simpson
Of course, this list has to include O.J. Simpson. The Hall of Fame Buffalo Bills’ running back was actually acquitted of murdering his wife and her friend Ronald Goldman. But, he met with his fate in a civil case where he was ordered in 1997 to pay the Brown and Goldman families a sum of $33.5 million in damages. My childhood hero would go on to serve time in prison for a totally different crime that involved criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, robbery, and using a deadly weapon in a hotel room in Las Vegas. I don’t feel the need to go into Simpson any further. They were famous cases and if you don’t know about them already, you’ve been living under a rock.
Lawrence Phillips Just Kept Making Things Worse
Lawrence Phillips played for the Rams, the Dolphins, and the 49ers. But his legal troubles began in 2005 when he drove over three teenagers after arguing with them about an issue during a pick-up football game in L.A. After that, he was investigated for accusations of domestic violence against his girlfriend. He was convicted in late 2006 for felony assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 10 years in prison. While in prison, he was tried and convicted for assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, and auto theft in charges stemming from the incident with his ex-girlfriend. He was sentenced to an additional 25 years.
Phillips would go on to strangle his cellmate and while awaiting trial for that murder, he committed suicide in his cell.
Dave Meggett, Dropped By The NFL
Dave Meggett played for the Giants, the Patriots, and the Jets. His legal troubles began in 1990 when he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. He was acquitted, but a pattern was just starting to develop. In 1998, he hired an escort for a three-way sexual encounter and then assaulted her after. That resulted in a hung jury.
In 2007, he was convicted of misdemeanor sexual battery in a case involving his former girlfriend. Then, there was another sexual assault case in 2008 involving a 17-year old girl, but prosecutors didn’t pursue it because they didn’t think she was very credible. However, in 2009 he was arrested and convicted of raping and robbing a College of Charleston student. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and doesn’t stand a chance of getting out until 2034.
Rae Carruth, The Guy The NFL Despises
Rae Carruth has a special place in hell waiting for him. He played for the Panthers but became a felon when he conspired to murder his girlfriend who was carrying their baby. He hired a hitman who was successful at shooting Cherica Adams four times. She was able to make it to the hospital, but died nearly a month later after falling into a coma.
The baby survived. Chancellor Lee Adams was born on November 16, 1999, the night his mother was shot. He has gone on to graduate from Vance High School in 2021. But he suffered permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy because he went 70 minutes without oxygen before he was born.

His father is out of prison now. But I don’t know if there is any relationship between them. I know Rae has sent a few thousand dollars through the court system, but he owes millions.
And then there’s this pregame outfit Bill Bellichick wore…
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Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1970, Michael Allen went on to graduate high school from James Monroe in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1988. He went into the Marine Corps four days later and put himself through college after being Honorably Discharged in 1993. After earning his B.S. in English in 1999 from Frostburg State University, he went on to write A River in the Ocean first as well as the children's book connected to it entitled When You Miss Me. He has also written the psychological thriller The Deeper Dark. ...more
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