Lawrence Phillips - Football star, violent criminal, now dead

[Principled Man]

Star football player for Nebraska. NFL bust. Violent criminal, facing murder charges for choking death of his cellmate.

 

Dead of an apparent suicide.

 

What a waste of a life. He could have had it all, but he simply had no respect for himself or anyone else. He literally dug his own grave.

[laughedatbytime]

And he had plenty of enablers, starting with Tom Osborne. Yes, the fault lies with him and him alone, but no one has covered themselves in glory in this story.

 

 

[Chicken hawk]

What a bad dude!

 

He played for three seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. In 2009, he was sentenced to 31 years in prison for two separate incidents — driving his car into three teenagers and assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

 

Then he killed his cell mate.

[HemiBeers]

I'm relieved my tax dollars don't have to pay to house this POS anymore.

[alphseeker]

This story is truly sad. My family are die hard Husker fans and that 95' team with Fraizer and Phillips was in my opinion the best NCAA team ever. I always hoped Lawrence would wake up one day but I am not surprised by this outcome.

[blueschica]

A sad, ironic story. (You know I gotta bring the Steelers in, right?) In 1996, the Rams traded Jerome Bettis to the Steelers because they thought Bettis had an attitude problem. They replaced him by drafting Phillips. Bettis went on to become a team leader and Hall of Fame running back and Phillips spent less than 2 years with the Rams and died in prison.

 

I guess with the suspicion of suicide they will automatically be doing an autopsy? I wonder if they will check or if we will ever hear if his brain had any signs of the traumatic brain injuries that so many NFLers suffer. :(

[Principled Man]

I guess with the suspicion of suicide they will automatically be doing an autopsy? I wonder if they will check or if we will ever hear if his brain had any signs of the traumatic brain injuries that so many NFLers suffer. :(

 

He was already facing 31 years for his past crimes, and he was being tried for 1st Degree Murder for strangling his cellmate. Suicide may have been the most rational decision he ever made.

[blueschica]

I guess with the suspicion of suicide they will automatically be doing an autopsy? I wonder if they will check or if we will ever hear if his brain had any signs of the traumatic brain injuries that so many NFLers suffer. :(

 

He was already facing 31 years for his past crimes, and he was being tried for 1st Degree Murder for strangling his cellmate. Suicide may have been the most rational decision he ever made.

 

That's kind of what I was thinking, sadly. There is evidence now that the CTE stuff can start so early; it might explain some of the anger management problems. On the other hand some people are just trouble.

 

Edited to say: I am just curious what they would find. I volunteered for several years at a domestic violence shelter and there's no excuse for his behaviors.

Edited January 14, 2016 by blueschica

[JohnRogers]

Was Anger Management Therapy ever attempted before or after the NFL draft?

[Principled Man]

Was Anger Management Therapy ever attempted before or after the NFL draft?

 

He needed therapy long before he entered the NFL.

 

Grew up in foster homes. In constant trouble while at Nebraska. Violence, vandalism, involvement with sports agents. In constant trouble on and off the field while in the NFL. His fate was pretty much set.

[WorkingAllTheTime]

When I saw that story come up, my first instinct was, "Well, that was expected."

 

I completely agree with LABT's notion that, while Phillips wrote his own book, there were plenty of people supplying the paper. Such a waste of talent. Such a waste of the gift of life.

[Principled Man]

When I saw that story come up, my first instinct was, "Well, that was expected."

 

I completely agree with LABT's notion that, while Phillips wrote his own book, there were plenty of people supplying the paper. Such a waste of talent. Such a waste of the gift of life.

 

The first finger should point at Tom Osbourne. His shameful mishandling of Phillips was a key factor. Osbourne had nothing to do with Phillips' troubled upbringing, but he could have done something with the young adult. He could have taught him that there are always consequences to one's actions.

[WorkingAllTheTime]

When I saw that story come up, my first instinct was, "Well, that was expected."

 

I completely agree with LABT's notion that, while Phillips wrote his own book, there were plenty of people supplying the paper. Such a waste of talent. Such a waste of the gift of life.

 

The first finger should point at Tom Osbourne. His shameful mishandling of Phillips was a key factor. Osbourne had nothing to do with Phillips' troubled upbringing, but he could have done something with the young adult. He could have taught him that there are always consequences to one's actions.

 

Yep, the result of the win-at-all-costs mentality that often permeates big time sports. Way too many coaches and administrators at the college level, and coaches and executives at the professional level, are willing to turn a blind eye to a troubled athlete who has talent (Aaron Hernandez, anyone?).

 

I would suggest, as well, that fans have a degree of complicit guilt by not more readily demanding consequences. Sure, lots of people say "tisk, tisk" and shake their heads, but not enough make their voice known through their wallets. This is especially true of the booster programs in college sports.

 

Every now and then, you get a coach who does something right. Boykin getting suspended for the Alamo Bowl, I think, is a good example. I am certain Patterson got some pressure to just bench him for a quarter and let him play. I am certain he got all sorts of "he's just a kid", "it's his last game", "he didn't really mean it", "you can't suspend the star quarterback" stuff, but Patterson stuck to his guns on it. That's a micro example, of course, but the kind of thing that needs to continue. Boykin learned that you can do whatever you want, including being a drunken jacka**, but with that decision comes a major consequence.

 

(Slightly related side note... every year its seems there is at least one player who gets into trouble prior to the Alamo Bowl.... why do coaches continue to stay downtown? Seriously, why put your kids within a stones through of the Riverwalk, which, after dark, is little more than an obnoxious bar district? Why not just take the team out of town? Stay at the freaking JW Marriott complex north of the city. It's so far out there aren't bus routes there and SA has no other public transit to speak of. It would make it very challenging for players to get downtown at night.)

Edited January 16, 2016 by WorkingAllTheTime