Donald Trump has issued pardons to five former NFL players (one posthumously) who were serving sentence for various crimes, including drug trafficking. Those are Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and Billy Cannon.
Klecko was serving sentence for perjury, after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. Newton, who won Super Bowl three times, pleaded guilty after authorities discovered $10,000 and 175 pounds of marijuana. Lewis was caught trying to sell drug, and Henry pleaded guilty for financing a drug ring that moved drug between Colorado and Montana.
Cannon, who died in 2018 at the age of 80, served three years for his role in a money printing operation. The decision has been taken by Trump's administration by conseil of their "pardon czar".
"As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation", wrote Alice Marie Johnson, "pardon czar" from Trump's administration, who is a former prisoner herself, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for cocaine trafficking. Johnson was given pardon by Trump in 2018 after 21 years in prison and named her "pardon czar", a new role, never before seen, which functions as an adviser to recommend other prisoners for clemency.