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

Cris Carter
(Image credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Julie Kliegman

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.