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FOR USE AS DESIRED NFL-81 10/8/04 JAMAL LEWIS
SUSPENDED FOR TWO GAMES WITHOUT PAY Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens has been suspended for two games without pay and fined an additional two weeks’ salary for violating the NFL Substance Abuse Policy, the NFL announced today. Lewis pleaded guilty on Thursday (October 7) in Atlanta to federal charges of using a telephone in June of 2000 to help facilitate the sale of cocaine to a co-defendant. Under the NFL’s Substance Abuse policy, a drug-related violation of law is grounds for league discipline. The disciplinary action imposed by Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will result in Lewis losing $761,000 in salary. Lewis has five days to appeal the decision. Under league rules, a suspension does not take effect until the appeals process has concluded. If Lewis declines to appeal, the suspension will begin on Thursday, October 14. If he appeals, a hearing will be held at the NFL office in New York on Monday, October 18. Following are excerpts from Commissioner Tagliabue’s letter to Lewis: "The telephone conversation relating to the other individual’s possible purchase of drugs occurred on or about June 23, 2000. Although the underlying circumstances were known to the government almost immediately, you were not charged with any offense until February, 2004 -- nearly four years later. The conversation did, however, occur after you had been drafted, attended one or more Ravens’ minicamps, and while your agent was in the process of negotiating an NFL contract for you." "According to the court record, your specific offense involved one phone call to introduce a prospective seller of cocaine who had recently been introduced to you by others (and, who, unbeknownst to you, was an undercover government informant) to a prospective buyer of cocaine. The proposed sale was to be to your co-defendant, who you knew to be interested in purchasing cocaine." "At no time did you possess, sell, attempt to possess or sell, finance, or offer to finance the distribution of cocaine or any other illegal drug. You did not request or expect to receive any money from any sale of cocaine. In fact, no drugs were ever bought or sold, whether by you or any other party to the proposed sale." "None of this is meant to diminish the seriousness of your guilty plea to a federal felony. You have needlessly sullied your own reputation and reinforced unfair and negative public perceptions of NFL players generally. The consequences of your poor judgment include incarceration, suspension from the NFL, and the loss of $761,000 in salary. The longer term damage to your own reputation may well be even greater." # # # |