President Donald Trump has pardoned five former NFL players, White House ‘pardon czar’ Alice Marie Johnson announced on Feb. 12.
The president pardoned Joe Klecko, 72; Nate Newton, 64; Jamal Lewis, 46, Travis Henry. 47; and Billy Cannon, who died in 2018 at age 80, Johnson announced in a post on social media.
‘As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,’ Johnson wrote in the post on X. ‘Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances. Mercy changes lives.’
A pardon permits the president to grant leniency to someone who has committed a federal crime. It often indicates the convicted person has taken responsibility for their actions.
The formal forgiveness for the crime sometimes restores legal rights like voting or holding office that would otherwise be barred due to the criminal conviction, according to the Department of Justice.
Which NFL players did Trump pardon and what teams did they play for?
Trump pardoned the following five former NFL players:
- Joe Klecko (New York Jets defensive lineman); sentenced to three months in jail in 1993 for lying to a federal grand jury about an auto-insurance fraud scam.
- Nate Newton (Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman); sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2002 after he was arrested with 175 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car near Dallas.
- Jamal Lewis (Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns running back); pleaded guilty in 2004 to using a cell phone to try to set up a drug deal and was sentenced to four months.
- Travis Henry (Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos running back); sentenced to three years in prison in 2009 for financing an interstate drug ring.
- Billy Cannon (Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs halfback) sentenced to five years in prison 1983 for taking part in a counterfeit-money-printing operation.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.