Ray Lewis (American football)

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Ray Lewis

Lewis during a 2007 charity event.
Baltimore Ravens — No. 52
Date of birth: May 15, 1975 (1975-05-15) (age 33)
Place of birth: Bartow, Florida
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Weight: 251 lb (114 kg)
National Football League debut
1996 for the Baltimore Ravens
Career history
College: University of Miami
NFL Draft: 1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 26
Teams: Baltimore Ravens (1996-present)
Current status: Active highlights= 9x Pro Bowl selection (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) 7x All-Pro selection (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004) 2x AP NFL Defensive Player of Year (2000, 2003) 1x Super Bowl champion (XXXV) Super Bowl XXXV MVP Member of 20 Sack/20 Int Club
Career highlights and awards
No notable achievements
Stats at NFL.com

Ray Anthony Lewis (born May 15, 1975 in Bartow, Florida) is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Lewis has appeared in nine Pro Bowls and been named an All-Pro seven times.^[1] He won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003; he was the sixth player to win the award multiple times.^[2] He was also the first linebacker to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award since 1971 and the first linebacker to win the award on the winning Super Bowl team.

[edit] Early life

He was born as Ray Jackson in Bartow, Florida. ^[3]He also played his peewee league football in Mulberry, Florida. At Kathleen High School, ^[4] Lewis was the team MVP in both his junior and senior seasons while playing linebacker, running back and kick returner. At Kathleen High, Lewis recorded 207 tackles with ten sacks, three blocked field goals, five fumble recoveries and eight interceptions (three for touchdowns). He also returned four punts and two kickoffs for touchdowns. He saw added success as a running back and rushed for 591 yards with eight touchdowns. In addition, Lewis was the 1993 state 4A wrestling champion in the 189 lb. weight class.^[5]

In 2007, he was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the top 33 players in the 100 year history of Florida high school football.

[edit] College career

As a freshman at the University of Miami, Lewis was an immediate contributor and became a starter for the Hurricanes' final 5 games. Lewis teamed up with Warren Sapp and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as he compiled 81 tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and four pass deflections in route to being named to the freshman All-American team.

In his sophomore season, Lewis earned 1st team All-American and All-Big East Conference honors. Lewis led the Big East with 152 tackles and also contributed nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, and an interception for a Hurricanes team that would finish #6 in both the writers' and coaches' polls.^[6]

Lewis' junior campaign was another successful one as he was once again named to the All-American^[7] and All-Big East teams. He was also the runner up for the Butkus Award.^[8]. Lewis finished his junior season with 160 tackles, the 2nd highest in University of Miami team history behind only Ed Weisacosky's 164 in 1965. Lewis also totaled eight tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, four pass deflections and one touchdown. Against West Virginia University, Lewis contributed fifteen tackles.

Lewis finished his college career with 393 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, three interceptions, six sacks, and a touchdown. He lead the Big East in tackles his final two seasons and accumulated the 5th most in Miami history despite playing only three seasons.

After the 1995 season, Lewis decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft. In the 1996 NFL Draft, he was selected in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens with the 26th overall pick. Lewis would eventually earn his undergraduate degree in Arts and Science in 2004 at the University of Maryland.^[9]

[edit] Professional career

At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Lewis has career totals of 1,520 tackles, 1367 solo tackles^[10], 11 forced fumbles, 90 passes defended, 83 tackles for loss, 30 sacks, 13 fumble recoveries, 25 interceptions, and two touchdowns in 162 games^[11][12]. Lewis has been selected to nine NFL Pro Bowl games in his twelve seasons and led the NFL in tackles five times (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004). In 2003, Lewis led all linebackers with six interceptions, a total matching the all-time record for a middle linebacker in a single season. Lewis was named 1st team AP All-Pro in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 and 2nd team All-Pro in 1997 and 1998.

[edit] Indicted for murder

Despite his accomplishments on the field, Lewis' public image was tarnished following a Super Bowl party on January 31, 2000. Following this party a fight broke out and Jacinth Baker, 21, and Richard Lollar, 24, died from stab wounds. Lewis and two companions, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting, were brought to an Atlanta police station for questioning. During the questioning Lewis lied to investigators by saying he did not know the other two suspects. However Lewis' limousine driver told the police that he saw Lewis strike one of the victims. The driver further stated that Lewis told the other occupants to stay quiet, and that Sweeting and Oakley stated "I stabbed mine". Evelyn Sparks, who was riding in the limousine, had said she saw another passenger dump a white hotel laundry bag into a garbage bin. Prosecutors said the bag contained Lewis's white suit and alleged it had blood on it. Eleven days later, along with Oakley and Sweeting, Lewis was indicted for murder and aggravated assault.

Lewis's attorney arranged with prosecutors to dismiss the murder charges if Lewis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice^[13] in exchange for him testifying against Oakley and Sweeting. Lewis accepted the plea bargain and was sentenced to one year of probation. He was not suspended by the NFL but was fined US$250,000, a league record at the time.

Oakley and Sweeting were acquitted of the charges in June 2000; the Atlanta Police Department and District Attorney's office believe Lewis and his associates to be guilty^{[citation needed]}. No other suspects have ever been arrested for the crime.

Lewis was named Super Bowl XXXV MVP but due to the controversy, he did not get the endorsements or the Disneyland trip offered to recent MVP recipients. The signature phrase "I'm going to Disneyland!" was given instead by quarterback Trent Dilfer.

On April 29, 2004, Lewis reached settlement of US$1,000,000 to four-year-old India Lollar, born months after the death of her father Richard, preempting a scheduled civil proceeding. ^[14] Lewis also reached an undisclosed settlement with Baker's family. ^[15]

[edit] Reputation

Throughout his career Lewis has built a reputation as a leader and intimidating force at middle linebacker, although the murder charges and subsequent civil case settlements continue to tarnish his career. He has led his team in tackles and sacks in nine of his eleven seasons. His defenses are consistently ranked among the best during his stint.^[16] The Ravens did not allow a single 100-yard rusher in 51 consecutive games from the 1998 through 2001 season. In addition to his run defense Lewis has also gained a reputation as a complete defender. He is one of only six recognized linebackers to have recorded twenty interceptions and sacks in his career. He became the quickest to achieve this in just 113 games and is the only player who played his entire career at middle linebacker to achieve this. Since the murder allegations, Lewis's image has slowly recovered,^[17] and today he is considered one of the most dominant linebackers in the history of the National Football League.^{[18][19][20][21]} Lewis was also selected as the third best linebacker of all time on the show The Sports List. A poll of NFL coaches selected Lewis as the most dominant player in the NFL before the 2003 season by being mentioned on ten ballots while no other player was mentioned more than twice.^[22] His leadership skills and style of play have inspired many fellow players such as Shawne Merriman.^[23]

Lewis's popularity has reached popular media as he has been referenced in various music videos by artists such as Mario in "Just a Friend 2002", Nelly in "Heart of a Champion", and Lil' Flip in "Sunshine". Lewis has also done television spots for NFL Network, Reebok and Under Armour. Lewis was referenced in the film The Rundown by The Rock. He also appeared in a series of Baltimore/Washington local Eastern Motors commercials as "Inspector 52" with fellow NFL players Clinton Portis, Sean Taylor, and LaVar Arrington.

[edit] Personal life

Lewis has been heavily involved in charitable activities throughout his professional career. Lewis started the Ray Lewis 52 Foundation which is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide personal and economic assistance to disadvantaged youth. The foundation has funded such events as adopting ten families in Baltimore City community for the holidays, an annual celebrity auction and bowling tournament, the Great Maryland Duck Derby, Thanksgiving food drives and Ray's Summer Days. All proceeds have helped fund the Ray Lewis Foundation.^[24]

In 2005 Lewis spent the off-season learning to speak Portuguese and Amharic to be more effective in his work in Angola and Ethiopia.^[25]He then teamed with Paralympic Gold Medalist Cheri Blauwet and with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) to support and advise the creation of a new Sports for Life program in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The pair traveled to the war-torn region in March 2006 to deliver wheelchairs, crutches and orthopedic devices to patients. They also consulted with therapists and social workers about possible beneficial uses for sports and recreation. Lewis has since been involved in pressing political, business and philanthropic leaders for a stronger commitment to disability sports both here and in the developing world. Lewis was also honored with a JB award (named in honor of CBS broadcaster James Brown) during the 2006 off-season and received the "Act of Kindness" Award for his work in the community. ^[26]

In addition to his efforts in the community Lewis is also an accomplished businessman. He opened the Ray Lewis Full Moon Bar-B-Que located in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood in February 2005. ^[27] He has also gained several national corporate endorsements, some of which draw upon his tough image. In 2004, Lewis was placed on the cover of the highly popular Madden NFL 2005 video game distributed by EA Sports. Lewis also joined with Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers and entrepreneur Mark Bloomquist to form S&L Racing, which will race both cars and trucks. The team is headquartered in North Carolina, and already races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.^[28]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ray Lewis Official Web site
• Ray Lewis at ESPN.com
• Ray Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Ravens Player Bio