President Donald Trump issued presidential pardons Thursday to five former National Football League players convicted of various federal offenses, the White House announced. The clemency actions were disclosed by Alice Marie Johnson, who serves as the administration’s pardon adviser, in posts on social media.“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.”
Johnson credited Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with informing Newton of the decision, stating that Jones “personally” relayed the news to him.
“Special thanks to Jerry Jones for personally sharing the news with Nate Newton. I’m holding Nate’s pardon in my hands today — what a blessed day,” Johnson wrote.
In her post, Johnson thanked the president for the clemency actions, writing, “Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances,” and adding, “Mercy changes lives.”
They include:
– Joe Klecko, a former New York Jets defensive lineman and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, who was convicted in the 1990s of lying to a federal grand jury in an insurance fraud case.
– Nate Newton, a former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman, who previously served a federal prison sentence for drug trafficking.
– Jamal Lewis, a former Baltimore Ravens running back, convicted in connection with a cocaine-related offense.
– Travis Henry, a former running back for the Buffalo Bills, who pleaded guilty to financing a cocaine trafficking operation.
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– Billy Cannon, a former Heisman Trophy winner and professional player, who died in 2018, was posthumously pardoned for a counterfeiting conviction.
Alice Marie Johnson’s new role in Trump’s White House comes after a high-profile clemency case where Trump granted her clemency during his first term. She had been serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense, Newsmax reported.
The power of clemency is held by the president under the U.S. Constitution and can take the form of pardons or commutations. During his first term, Trump issued 237 acts of clemency, according to federal records.
In comparison, former President Barack Obama granted 1,927 acts of clemency over two terms, while current President Joe Biden has granted 4,245 acts of clemency in one term, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
In November, President Trump issued a presidential pardon to former New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry, who had pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion back in 1995, Newsmax reported at the time.
Strawberry, 63, served three years on probation and spent six months under home confinement, during which time he paid back approximately $350,000 in back taxes and penalties.
“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” a White House official told multiple outlets, including the New York Post.
“Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. Following his career, he found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and founded a recovery center that still operates today,” the official added.
Strawberry thanked the president in a post on Instagram at the time.
“Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump for my full pardon and for finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and clean from all of my past,” he wrote.
pardon of former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry applies only to Strawberry’s federal tax evasion conviction and does not affect subsequent state convictions.
In 1999, Strawberry pleaded no contest in Florida to charges of cocaine possession and solicitation. In 2002, he served nearly a year in prison after violating the terms of his probation.
Strawberry was one of baseball’s most prominent players during the 1980s and early 1990s. Selected No. 1 overall by the New York Mets in the 1980 draft, he developed into one of the league’s leading power hitters and helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. He was selected to eight All-Star Games during his career.
