About Darren Sharper
Darren Mallory Sharper (born November 3, 1975) is an American former professional football safety and convicted rapist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the William & Mary Tribe and was selected in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he spent eight seasons. Sharper played his next four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and his final two with the New Orleans Saints. Recognized as one of the league's top defensive backs during his career, Sharper was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a two-time first-team All-Pro, along with being named to the second-team of the 2000s All-Decade Team. He ranks sixth in interceptions and is tied with Charles Woodson and Rod Woodson for the most defensive touchdowns. Following Sharper's 2010 retirement, allegations surfaced that he drugged and raped several women across various states, leading to him being charged in 2014. Sharper pled guilty to the rape and drug-related charges and was sentenced in 2016 to 20 years in prison. As a result of his guilty plea, he was removed from the College of William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame. Although the conviction did not disqualify his Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility, Sharper never progressed beyond nomination in the voting process. On September 1, 1997, Sharper made his professional regular season debut in the Green Bay Packers' home-opener against the Chicago Bears and recorded one solo tackle as they won 38–24. During his college career, he earned All-America honors twice and was named first-team All-Yankee Conference selection three times. He finished his college career with a school record 24 career interceptions and a I-AA record 468 career interception return yards. He also set the school record with 1,027 career punt return yards.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.