Super Bowl champ Nate Newton's drug charges erased. President Trump grants a second chance to the beloved Dallas Cowboys star.
Former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman and three-time Super Bowl winner Nate Newton is one of the five former NFL players who were pardoned by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
Newton pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge in 2002 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. His arrest found hundreds of pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash in vehicles associated with him.
Other pardoned NFL players include Joe Klecko, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon.
"As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again," "pardon czar" Alice Marie Johnson wrote on social media thanking President Trump. "So is our nation."
"Grateful to @POTUS for his continued commitment to second chances," she added. "Mercy changes lives."
Johnson was holding Newton's pardon in the photo posted on social media. She also explained that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally shared the news to his former player.
Newton spent 14 seasons in the NFL and was most famously known for his spot on "The Wall" in Dallas during the 1990s. He twice landed on the All-Pro First Team and appeared in the Pro Bowl six times.
Since the troubling end to his career, Newton has worked on turning his life around for the better.
“I know I’ve done wrong, and I know there’s a price to be paid,’’ Newton said after his plea, via the Associated Press. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get back into the community.’’
Newton, 64, has reportedly undergone a dramatic weight loss and regularly appears on media projects produced by the Cowboys.