Carter, top NFL prospect, posts bond in fatal crash
Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter returned to the NFL scouting combine on Thursday after turning himself in to Athens police Wednesday night and posting a combined bond of $4,000 on charges of reckless driving and racing in relation to a fatal crash that killed a teammate and team staffer.
Carter, originally projected as one of the top players in next month’s NFL draft, could lose millions of dollars if he drops from the top of the first round because of his alleged connection to the Jan. 15 crash that killed teammate Devin Willock and a recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy.
Police allege in an arrest warrant that Carter was racing his 2021 Jeep Trackhawk against the 2021 Ford Expedition driven by LeCroy at the time of the crash. Willock was a passenger in the SUV LeCroy was driving.
Carter turned himself in at 11:33 p.m. and was released at 11:49 p.m., according to Athens-Clarke County jail records. He posted bond of $2,500 on the racing charge and $1,500 on the reckless driving charge.
Carter issued a statement on Twitter after the warrant was made public, saying he expects to be “fully exonerated.”
He said he intends “to make certain that the complete and accurate truth is presented. There is no question in my mind that when all of the facts are known that I will be fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”
The combine in Indianapolis has been abuzz with talk of Carter’s charges.
“All I can do is pray for him,” Georgia defensive back Christopher Smith said.
And NFL teams will be seeking more information. “We’ll track that, obviously,” said Washington general manager Martin Mayhew.
Carter has been projected to be drafted as high as No. 1. In 2022, Georgia defensive end Travon Walker earned a $41.65 million contract from Jacksonville as the No. 1 pick.
Panthers founder, former owner Jerry Richardson dies at 86
CHARLOTTE, N.C » Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers founder and for years one of the NFL’s most influential owners until a scandal forced him to sell the team, has died. He was 86.
Richardson died peacefully Wednesday night at his Charlotte home, the team said in a statement.
Richardson became the first former NFL player to own a team since Chicago’s George
Halas when he landed the expansion Panthers in 1993.
A former teammate of Johnny Unitas who caught a touchdown pass in the Baltimore Colts’ victory over the New York Giants in the 1959 NFL championship game, Richardson only spent two years in the NFL before venturing into the restaurant business. He used his championship bonus money to open the first Hardee’s in Spartanburg, S.C. — close to where he had attended Wofford College.
He went on to make his fortune in the restaurant business, becoming chief executive officer of Flagstar, the sixth-largest food service company in the country at the time.
Richardson’s reputation took a tremendous hit when he announced he was selling the Panthers on Dec. 17, 2017, — the same day Sports Illustrated reported that four former Panthers employees received significant monetary settlements due to inappropriate sexually suggestive language and actions by Richardson. It was also reported he used a racial slur directed toward a team scout.
Kamara, Lammons plead not guilty
LAS VEGAS » New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and three other men pleaded not guilty in Nevada to charges they beat a man unconscious at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub before the NFL’s 2022 Pro Bowl.
Kamara appeared alongside Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons and codefendants Darrin Young and Percy Harris in state court. They could face trial July 31, according to the schedule set by the judge.
The four are each charged with a felony and a misdemeanor for allegedly punching, kicking and stomping on Darnell Greene Jr. of Houston during an altercation outside an elevator.