REDFLAGZ
An informational resource to help fantasy football players evaluate behavioral risk
Historical NFL Case Profiles
Lawrence Phillips RB (High Risk)
Deceased, 1996-1999
I was at an in-person draft in Columbia, South Carolina in 1996 when one of the owners drafted Lawrence Phillips when I said, "he will be out of the league in two years". I was off by one year. The comment wasn't well received at the time.
There were significant and numerous red flags throughout his college and his pro career. Lawrence's tale is tragic and punctuated by severe trauma and violence. The core of Lawrence's behavior was consistent with domestic abuse, it is a learned behavior, and Lawrence was exposed to severe violence against his mother as well as himself by the violent men in his life. The severity of his behavior and the explosive violence is consistent with Intermittent Explosive Disorder and possibly an exaggerated trauma response.
With these severe problems, this was a high-risk pick as his struggles were very public at the University of Nebraska and the fantasy football owner who drafted him in 1996 received 201 touches for 660 yards and 5 touchdowns.
His tale came to a tragic end. He was sentenced to jail for 31 years to life for multiple crimes. Lawrence Phillips committed suicide at the age of 41 while in prison awaiting trial for the murder his cellmate.
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