WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned former NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon.
The pardon was announced by White House “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson.
“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace and the courage to get up again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on social media He thanked Trump for his “continued commitment to second chances.”
Johnson said dallas cowboys Owner Jerry Jones “personally” shared the news with Newton, who won three Super Bowls with the team.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment Thursday night on why Trump pardoned the players.
Cleco, a former star for New York JetsIn 1993, he was convicted of perjury after lying to a federal grand jury investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. He was a two-time Associated Press All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler.
Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in 2002 after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in a car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler.
Lewis, formerly Baltimore Ravens and this cleveland brownsPleaded guilty to a drug case in which he used a cell phone to try to set up a drug deal shortly after being the fifth pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. The running back was named an All-Pro once, a Pro Bowler once and the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Henry pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiring to smuggle cocaine to finance a drug ring that moved drugs between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and made the Pro Bowl once.
and Cannon, who played with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and kansas city chiefsHe admitted fraud after a series of bad investments and loans in the mid-1980s.
Cannon was a two-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler. He also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for LSU. He died in 2018.
An avid sports fan, Trump pardoned former New York Mets The great Darryl Strawberry of tax evasion and drug charges in November.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
