Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for different crimes

On Thursday, President Donald Trump granted a posthumous pardon to five former professional football players for a variety of offenses, including drug trafficking and perjury. One of the players was granted the pardon after his death.

Alice Marie Johnson, who serves as the pardon czar for the White House staff, made the announcement. Some former National Football League players, including Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and Billy Cannon, who passed away, were awarded pardon.

Grit, grace, and the courage to rise again are the foundations upon which excellence is built, as football serves to remind us. In a post that she made on the social media platform X, Johnson expressed her gratitude to President Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.” “So is our nation,” she said.

According to Johnson, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, “personally” informed Newton of the news. Newton has been in three Super Bowls with the Cowboys.

When asked why President Trump, who is a huge sports enthusiast, pardoned the players, the White House did not respond to a request for comment that was made on Thursday night.

Following his deception to a federal grand jury that was conducting an investigation into insurance fraud, Klecko, a former standout player for the New York Jets, entered a guilty plea to the charge of perjury. In the year 2023, Klecko, who played defensive lineman, was honored with induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Associated Press named him to their All-Pro team twice, and he was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.

An offensive lineman named Newton entered a guilty plea to a federal narcotics trafficking charge after officials found $10,000 in his pickup truck and 175 pounds of marijuana in a car that was driven by another individual. Newton’s plea was accepted after the authorities discovered the drugs. Newton earned a spot in the Pro Bowl six times and was named to the All-Pro team twice.

The drug case in which Lewis used a cellphone to try to arrange up a drug trade occurred not long after he was selected as a top pick in the NFL draft in the year 2000. Lewis, who had previously played for the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, entered a guilty plea in the crime. Lewis, a running back, was selected to the Pro Bowl on one occasion and was named to the All-Pro team once. The Associated Press honored him as the Offensive Player of the Year in 2003.

Henry, who was a member of the Denver Broncos football team, entered a guilty plea to the charge of conspiracy to traffic cocaine. He was accused of giving money to a criminal ring that carried cocaine between the states of Colorado and Montana. A running back for three different teams, he was selected for the Pro Bowl on one occasion.

Cannon, who had previously played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, and Kansas City Chiefs, acknowledged to engaging in counterfeiting in the middle of the 1980s. This was after he had been rendered financially incapable as a result of a string of poor investments and debts.

During his career, Cannon was selected to the All-Pro team twice and to the Pro Bowl twice. Additionally, Cannon was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1959 while he was playing for Louisiana State University. It was during his time at LSU that he made one of the most iconic plays in the history of college football: he returned a punt for 89 yards and scored a touchdown against Ole Miss.2018 was the year he passed away.