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NFL briefs

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 18, 2000

Lewis fined $250,000

NEW YORK -- Ray Lewis was fined $250,000 by the NFL on Thursday for obstructing an Atlanta police investigation of a double murder after the Super Bowl.

The fine is believed to be the largest levied by the NFL against a player other than in cases involving substance abuse.

In addition, commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled that Lewis will be fined another $250,000 and be subject to suspension if he violates any of the terms of his 12-month probation for a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice.

"I'm disappointed and I will appeal," Lewis said in a statement released by the Ravens.

Lewis, Baltimore's All-Pro middle linebacker, originally was accused along with two others of murder in the stabbing deaths of two men after a post-Super Bowl party in January. He interrupted the trial to plead guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction charge and testified against his co-defendants.

The two co-defendants were acquitted.

Tagliabue noted in levying the fine that Lewis' reputation had suffered and he had paid substantial legal fees. But the commissioner said that by not telling police the full story, Lewis "fueled a public perception that he had something to hide."

"In doing so," Tagliabue said. "he put his own livelihood and reputation needlessly at risk, and he caused great harm to other NFL players and to the league."

Lewis' arrest was one of several that has tarnished the NFL's reputation in the last year.

Rae Carruth, the former Carolina Panthers wide receiver, has been charged in the fatal shooting of the mother of his child. He is awaiting trial.

Another former Panther, Fred Lane, was shot to death last spring in what police said was a domestic dispute. No arrests have been made.

"When an NFL player engages in and admits to misconduct of the type to which Mr. Lewis has pled here, the biggest losers are thousands of other NFL players, present, past and future," Tagliabue said "Such admitted misconduct clearly contributes to the negative stereotyping of NFL players."

ROMANOWSKI CASE: New details surfaced about the fraudulent prescription drug case against Bill Romanowski, including a former nanny's claim she didn't realize her name was used to get diet pills.

In addition, court records in Castle Rock, Colo., obtained by the Denver Rocky Mountain News shed some light on the relationship between Romanowski and a former teammate, Martin Harrison, who the records say told investigators Romanowski offered him diet pills as pregame stimulants.

A sheriff's investigator's report about the case makes no mention of any racial slur uttered by the Broncos linebacker, the News reported.

Romanowski was indicted last week on one count each of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deceit and two counts of conspiracy. The indictment alleged Romanowski used diet drugs prescribed for his wife and a friend. Previously, his wife, Julie, and three others were charged in the case. Romanowski is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 28.

EX-SAINT FACES JAIL TIME: Russell Erxleben, a former kicker for the New Orleans Saints and Texas Longhorns, faces up to six months in jail for contempt of court in Austin, Texas. A judge found Erxleben guilty of impeding efforts to recover assets from his failed foreign currency trading firm. Erxleben failed to fully respond to nine court orders over the past year and a half as the courts tried to recover assets from Austin Forex International Inc., the Austin American-Statesman reported.

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