I Dislike Your Favorite Team

Nominated By: pstearns

Blogger Review of Nomination: Big Blue


Lawrence Phillips is still one of the greatest College Running Backs of all time. His sophomore year (age 19?) he was playing in a backfield at Nebraska with the 3rd string, walk on quarterback, and still tallied over 1700 yards. Nebraska won the National Championship that year, with Phillips beating a Miami defense that included Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis. He was a God of College Football. He was on his way to riches, glory, and more ass than a porta-potty in Central Park.

His Junior Year, his other tendencies started to announce themselves. He found an ex-girlfriend in the room/arms of a transfer student, and pulled her out of his room forcibly, and then proceeded to drag her down a set of stairs, BY HER HAIR. For this violent act, he was suspended, but not kicked off the team, nor did he serve any jail time.

By the end of 1996, he was the again the franchise running back (despite Ahman Green waiting in the wings) and in the Fiesta Bowl, ran in two touchdowns and caught another. He was on his way to the NFL again, his one "bad decision" behind him.

He was drafted in the first round, and his NFL career was one of failed opportunities, and second chances. He was undoubtedly a bust for the Rams who drafted him. But more importantly, he pled no contest to assaulting a woman in a night club. The NFL could forgive that, but his crappy stats they could not. Phillips was shipped around, at one point even playing for the Barcelona Dragons. One his second second chance, he ended up with the San Francisco 49'ers, where he missed a block on Aeneas Williams, who then effectively ended Steve Young's career.

He moved to the CFL, where he was cut twice, despite his talent, because of insubordination.

By the time most NFL running backs are entering their prime, Phillips was considered a waste to any franchise that signed him, and a danger to any woman who dared to flirt with him.

But what makes Phillips a nomiee for the Legion of Doom isn't his "escapades" during his playing career, but his continued violence after he was banished from the pitch.

I'll quote Wikipedia here, and just try to follow along with how many felony counts Phillips was wanted for when he was finally arrested:

On August 21, 2005, Phillips was arrested for assault after allegedly driving a car into three teenagers, following a dispute with the teens during a pick-up football game in Los Angeles, California. At the time of the arrest, Phillips was wanted by San Diego in connection with two alleged domestic abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend, who claimed that Phillips choked her to the point of unconsciousness during one of the incidents. In addition, Los Angeles police were seeking Phillips in connection with yet another, separate domestic abuse allegation that occurred previously in Los Angeles.

Phillips went to trial last week over his driving through the guys he argued with. His lawyer is claming that it was an accident and not malicious. Seriously.

Phillips is a guy who should have been in jail back when he was 20 years old. Only now, aged 31, and demonstrably no use to even a CFL franchise will he get punished for his many, many violent acts.

How many Sixth Picks overall in a draft, any draft end up in jail with felony warrants from 3 or 4 different localities? Phillips is special. He's a Legion of Doomer, in my mind.