In June, 2000, an Atlanta judge approved a deal allowing the Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis to avoid murder charges and jail time by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and testifying against two co-defendants.
Thirteen years later, Lewis wrapped up his storied NFL career with his second Super Bowl championship on Sunday. The question remains: how will his legacy will be remembered?
Lewis' career nearly ended in a deadly knife fight. According to Atlanta Daily Constitution, and police reports, a deadly brawl following a Super Bowl XXXIV party in Atlanta broke out with Lewis, two companions and another two men, leading to the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar.
Lewis and his two friends were questioned by Atlanta police, and less than two weeks later the three men were indicted on murder and aggravated-assault charges. Lewis later admitted he gave a misleading statement to police on the morning after the killings, and pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice, while his friends were charged with murder.
According to police reports, Superior Court Judge Alice D. Bonner sentenced Lewis to 12 months' probation, the maximum sentence for a first-time offender and he was fined $250,000 by the NFL, which was believed to be the highest fine levied against an NFL player for an infraction not involving substance abuse.
It was reported that the white suit Lewis was wearing that night had never been found, and that Fulton county District Attorney Paul Howard alleged that the blood-stained suit was dumped in a garbage bin outside a fast food restaurant.
Led by Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens won Sunday's Super Bowl in a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, Lewis invoked God and brought up his court case, saying in a post-game interview.
"If the system really investigated the case maybe they would have gotten to the bottom of it," he said. "If you really knew how God works, he don't use people who commit anything like that (murder) for his glory."
Since his rookie year in 1996, Lewis has won numerous NFL awards, including being named Defensive Player of the Year twice in 2000 and 2003, as well as Super Bowl MVP after winning Super Bowl XXXV after the 2000 season. He is also a 13-time Pro Bowler and seven-time AP First Team All-Pro player.
"I don't know nobody that's ever lived a perfect life," Lewis said before Sunday's game. "I have (seen) people that have been through things before. Realistically, most of the time when you find somebody that goes through adversity, you really find out what their true character is. For me, people really now have taken time to find out who I am ... and (what) my character is. For someone who has been through adversity and found his way out and really just showing what my true character is and who I am as a person."
Lewis wrapped up his 17 year NFL career but whether he is remembered as a two-time Super Bowl champion, or a man who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice murder charge will be hotly debated for years.
