JaMarcus Russell’s NFL career was marked by struggles as a quarterback. The first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, he had a disappointing record of just 7-18 as a starter over three seasons. He completed only 52.1% of his passes and averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt, with more interceptions than touchdown passes. Despite his success on the field, Russell faced legal trouble in 2010 when he was arrested for possession of codeine syrup without a valid prescription. Although he was not indicted on the charge, Russell later admitted to testing positive for codeine after being drafted by the Raiders.
After leaving the NFL, Russell had been volunteering as a coaching assistant at his high school alma mater, Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama. However, he was removed from this position last year for depositing and cashing a $74,000 check intended as a donation to the school. According to mobile County Public School officials, JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School in the fall of last year due to his failure to provide a receipt and stop returning calls after depositing and cashing the check written by Chris Knowles of Selwonk Enterprises, a local building company.
The check was deposited and cashed at Navigator Credit Union which is now suing Russell for $55,000 that was allegedly “lent” to him by the credit union. Russell filed a counterclaim against Knowles for stopping payment on the check. Although Russell admitted to depositing the check, he denies any wrongdoing as stated in court documents obtained by WKRG
