NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter almost blew his career on a number of occasions.
The gifted wide receiver made some pretty poor decisions during his early days in the
game, and his sketchy behavior seems to have culminated in his being let go from Fox Sports.
So what happened?
Chris Carter very nearly followed in his older brother's footsteps and played basketball
as a young man.
Ultimately, however, he chose football and attended Ohio State where he made a big impact
on the field during his first season in a Buckeyes jersey.
His potential didn't go unnoticed by sketchy agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom, who
signed Carter to a contract before his senior season, breaking NCAA rules.
Carter was ruled ineligible after news of secret payments from Walters and his associates
came to light, and the Buckeyes suffered as a result.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, this was the beginning of the end for coach Earle Bruce.
With his star player out of the picture, Bruce couldn't deliver the results, and the respected
coach was let go.
Carter must have felt at least partially responsible, because he later apologized for what happened
during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech.
"Ohio State, first of all, to all the Buckeyes fans, from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely
apologize for me signing with a sports agent and losing my eligibility my senior year.
That is the only regret I have in my athletic career, is that I couldn't play for the Buckeyes
as a senior.
Buckeyes fans, Cris Carter says 'I'm sorry.'"
Cris Carter went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, who picked the wide receiver up in
the 4th round of the 1987 NFL Supplemental Draft.
He was hoping to put the college contract scandal behind him when he arrived at his
new team, but he was dragged back into it when Walters and Bloom were investigated over
racketeering and mail fraud.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the star wide receiver was fined $15,000 and ordered
to do 600 hours of community service for lying to a grand jury over illegal payments he'd
received.
At the time of the investigation, Carter claimed in a statement that he was, quote, "cooperating
fully," and that he regretted his past mistakes.
Cris Carter delivered on the field during his three seasons with The Philadelphia Eagles,
but off the field, he was spiraling out of control.
He later admitted to, quote, "regularly abusing alcohol and cocaine" during the late 1980s,
but he managed to keep his destructive lifestyle hidden from public view.
He couldn't hide his drug abuse from his team, however.
In a piece he penned for the Ambrosia Treatment Center, he said:
"In the summer of 1990, cocaine caused me to fail my third drug test.
Buddy Ryan, the coach of the Eagles at the time, had enough.
I was released from the team after just three seasons."
Carter wasn't willing to admit that he had a problem before this point, but word of his
drug abuse was starting to spread to other teams, and Carter was forced to face his demons
head on.
It turned out that being dropped from the Eagles was the wake up call that he sorely
needed.
When Carter took the stage during his Hall of Fame enshrinement, he told the crowd:
"What Buddy Ryan did was the best thing that ever happened for me when he cut me and told
me I couldn't play for his football team."
When Ryan passed in 2016, Carter tweeted a photo of his former coach with the caption:
"Condolences to Rex, Rob, and the rest of the Ryan family.
You saved my life with tough love."
Cris Carter was a speaker at the 2014 NFL rookie symposium, an event that was set up
to offer valuable advice about off-field issues to drafted players.
Carter did the exact opposite of that.
The Hall of Famer's comments caused outrage in the football community, he told the impressionable
young players in attendance that they needed to get themselves a "fall guy" so they could
avoid any legal troubles.
"Y'all not going to all do the right stuff now, so I've got to teach ya'll how to get
around all this stuff, too.
If you're going to have a crew, one of them fools got to know he going to jail."
When the video circulated online in 2015, the NFL decided to distance itself from the
Hall of Famer, stating:
"The comment was not representative of the message of the symposium or any other league
program.
The league's player engagement staff immediately expressed concern about the comment to Cris."
Speaking on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, Carter admitted that his words were wholly
inappropriate and apologized for them.
"I would never tell young people to break the law to avoid prosecution.
It was bad advice."
After Cris Carter was cut by The Philadelphia Eagles he was picked up by The Minnesota Vikings,
who helped the troubled wide receiver get his personal and professional life back on
track.
He thanked the team profusely during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech, telling Vikings
fans that he had never felt uncomfortable during the time he spent playing for Minnesota.
"All he does is get inducted into the Football Hall of Fame."
But if that was really the case, would he have voided his contract the way he did?
According to the Associated Press, he dumped the Vikings in 2002 because he was more interested
in winning a Super Bowl than he was about ending his career with the team that made
him a legend.
In November 2019, Cris Carter was fired from his job on Fox Sports' morning debate show
First Things First, which he had co-hosted since 2017.
The Big Lead was the first to break the news that things had become strained between the
Hall of Famer and the network, revealing that Carter had been suspended pending an investigation.
The catalyst of that investigation was unclear, but it's clear now that his suspension became
permanent.
Two separate sources confirmed to The Big Lead that Carter "cleaned out his desk at
Fox Sports" under the watchful eye of security.
According to Front Office Sports, the former Eagles and Vikings receiver was upset about
not being offered a role on Fox's Thursday Night Football, and he ended up losing his
temper with the network bosses about it.
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