Cris Carter regrets telling NFL rookies to have a 'fall guy' to go to jail for their crimes


At the 2014 NFL Rookie Symposium, former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter had an interesting piece of advice for new players: "If y'all got a crew, you've got to have a fall guy in the crew."
The Hall of Famer's suggestion that rookies line up someone to take responsibility for their potential crimes, and possibly go to jail in the athlete's place, was captured on video published to the league's website, but didn't come under fire until Friday. That's when ESPN published a profile of former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borman, who recalled the incident in an interview without naming Carter.
The NFL released a statement Sunday condemning the comments, and Carter himself later tweeted an apology, calling the suggestion "very bad advice."
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Video from the symposium was pulled from NFL.com, but not before sportswriter Rich Hill captured it on Vine.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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