02/12/26 09:35:00
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02/12 21:34 CST Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from
perjury to drug trafficking
Trump pardons 5 former NFL players for crimes ranging from perjury to drug
trafficking
By SEUNG MIN KIM and MARK ANDERSON
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) --- President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned five former
professional football players --- one posthumously --- for various crimes
ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.
The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson.
Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late
Billy Cannon were granted the clemency.
"As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to
rise again. So is our nation," Johnson wrote on the social media site X, as she
thanked Trump for his "continued commitment to second chances."
Johnson said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones "personally" shared the news with
Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.
The White House did not return a request for comment Thursday night on why
Trump, an avid sports fan, pardoned the players.
Klecko, a former star for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after
lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A
defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro player and a four-time Pro
Bowler.
Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking
charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175
pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a
two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.
Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, pleaded
guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal
not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back,
was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003
AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado
and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowler.
And Cannon --- who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas
City Chiefs --- admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of
bad investments and debts left him broke.
Cannon was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won
the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he
had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard
punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.
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Anderson reported from Las Vegas.
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