Former No. 1 NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell has been removed from the coaching staff at the high school he attended in Mobile, Alabama, and is facing a lawsuit accusing him of taking money intended to be donated to the school.
“JaMarcus Russell was relieved from his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School last fall,” Mobile County Public School officials told WKRG Sports.
Russell also faces a lawsuit alleging that he took a check for $74,000 intended as a donation to the school and kept the money for himself. Chris Knowles, a local business owner who wrote the check, says Russell approached him with a donation to help the Williamson High School football team purchase weight room equipment, and Knowles gave Russell the donation in a check. But the school allegedly never received any of the money, and Russell allegedly deposited it into a credit union and promptly withdrew $55,000 of it.
Russell was a star football player for Williamson High School before going to college at LSU, but the school says he is no longer welcome. When Russell attended an event for the football team this week, the district made it clear he shouldn’t be there.
“Earlier this week, Mr. Russell was reiterated that he is not permitted to be near the football program or on the school campus,” the school district said in a statement to WKRG.
The 38-year-old Russell was the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. He started 25 games for the Raiders over three seasons and finished his NFL career with a 52.1 percent completion percentage, 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
