BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 60,877
- Reaction score
- 16,429
- Points
- 113
per the Lansing State Journal:
The man who was once the best player in college football works at Uptown Motors, an auto repair shop off Palm Beach Boulevard in northeast Fort Myers, Florida.
His business card says he’s the general manager, but, admittedly, he doesn’t know much about cars.
He’ll help with taping up wheels for painting or help lift a motor here and there, but as far as day-to-day maintenance, Rogers said he likes to be more of a “PR guy” for the shop, which is owned by his childhood friend Mel Washington.
The building is painted black, scalding hot to the touch in the Florida sun and surrounded by a privacy fence and razor wire. Rogers is eager to show off a pair of pit bulls that sit in a cage on the hot concrete out back. There are more dogs inside that he glowingly refers to as “the hyenas.”
“You can’t touch these ones.” He smiled.
Rogers is 35 now. He’s wearing $600 shorts and a Wal-Mart T-shirt. He has tattoos on his arms that together spell out "Sag Nasty," an homage to his hometown. He is nearly 30 pounds down from his MSU playing weight of 205. He is shaky. His hands never seem to stay still.
He was the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He signed a $39.5 million contract with the Detroit Lions. It included a guaranteed signing bonus of $14.4 million.
Without football in his life, Rogers’ rap sheet started to fill up.
He was blowing through money, making bad investments in car washes and barber shops. He once gave a friend $10,000 to open a business and didn’t even ask what the money was for.
Rogers was arrested six times between September of 2008 to October of 2012, on charges ranging from assault and battery and probation violations to DUI, open container violations and marijuana possession.
“I don’t think marijuana was my downfall, but I can’t narrow it down, man,” he said. “I have a beer watching the game or a fight, but I smoke every day though. I smoke every day. Not even going to lie to you. But I am drug-free other than that."
He said he might also turn his love of weed into a legal venture in the future.
"You can make a lot of money off it, too," he said. "I know it inside and out."
“I am getting my life together… A fresh start,” he said as he stepped out into the Florida heat and pulled down his sunglasses. “Do I need a little love? Yeah. Am I still trying to find Charles Rogers? Yeah. I stay optimistic and positive. I’ve been to hell and back, but I stay strong. I still have faith. I’m still a young man. It ain’t over. I’m going to be all right, you know? I’m going to be all right.”
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...harles-rogers-michigan-state-lions/100577018/
Go Gophers!!
The man who was once the best player in college football works at Uptown Motors, an auto repair shop off Palm Beach Boulevard in northeast Fort Myers, Florida.
His business card says he’s the general manager, but, admittedly, he doesn’t know much about cars.
He’ll help with taping up wheels for painting or help lift a motor here and there, but as far as day-to-day maintenance, Rogers said he likes to be more of a “PR guy” for the shop, which is owned by his childhood friend Mel Washington.
The building is painted black, scalding hot to the touch in the Florida sun and surrounded by a privacy fence and razor wire. Rogers is eager to show off a pair of pit bulls that sit in a cage on the hot concrete out back. There are more dogs inside that he glowingly refers to as “the hyenas.”
“You can’t touch these ones.” He smiled.
Rogers is 35 now. He’s wearing $600 shorts and a Wal-Mart T-shirt. He has tattoos on his arms that together spell out "Sag Nasty," an homage to his hometown. He is nearly 30 pounds down from his MSU playing weight of 205. He is shaky. His hands never seem to stay still.
He was the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He signed a $39.5 million contract with the Detroit Lions. It included a guaranteed signing bonus of $14.4 million.
Without football in his life, Rogers’ rap sheet started to fill up.
He was blowing through money, making bad investments in car washes and barber shops. He once gave a friend $10,000 to open a business and didn’t even ask what the money was for.
Rogers was arrested six times between September of 2008 to October of 2012, on charges ranging from assault and battery and probation violations to DUI, open container violations and marijuana possession.
“I don’t think marijuana was my downfall, but I can’t narrow it down, man,” he said. “I have a beer watching the game or a fight, but I smoke every day though. I smoke every day. Not even going to lie to you. But I am drug-free other than that."
He said he might also turn his love of weed into a legal venture in the future.
"You can make a lot of money off it, too," he said. "I know it inside and out."
“I am getting my life together… A fresh start,” he said as he stepped out into the Florida heat and pulled down his sunglasses. “Do I need a little love? Yeah. Am I still trying to find Charles Rogers? Yeah. I stay optimistic and positive. I’ve been to hell and back, but I stay strong. I still have faith. I’m still a young man. It ain’t over. I’m going to be all right, you know? I’m going to be all right.”
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...harles-rogers-michigan-state-lions/100577018/
Go Gophers!!