Warren Sapp

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Warren Sapp
Warren Sapp On the set of NFL Network in 2010.jpg
Warren Sapp on set of NFL Network in 2010
No. 99
Defensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1972-12-19) December 19, 1972 (age 40)
Place of birth: Orlando, Florida
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school: Apopka (FL)
College: Miami (FL)
NFL Draft: 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
Debuted in 1995 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last played in 2007 for the Oakland Raiders
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2007
Games played 198
Games started 188
Tackles 573
Quarterback sacks 96.5
Forced fumbles 19
Interceptions 4
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is a Hall of Fame, former American college and professional football player who was defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the University of Miami, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American and won multiple awards.

Sapp was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1995 NFL Draft as the 12th overall pick, and played professionally for the Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. He spent nine seasons with the Buccaneers where he earned seven trips to the Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl ring in 2003. He moved to the Raiders in 2004. His 96.5 career sacks (100 counting the playoffs) are the second-highest career total sacks for a defensive tackle and the 28th highest overall for a defensive lineman. His 77 sacks with the Buccaneers ranks as the most ever recorded in the team's history.

During Sapp's career, he was the source of some controversy because of his hard-hitting style of play and occasional verbal outbursts, both on the field and off. Some of these resulted in NFL fines, and he was once ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike conduct.

In his first year of eligibility, on February 2, 2013, Sapp was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[1] The Buccaneers will enter him into their Ring of Honor on November 11, 2013 and retire his #99 jersey. Sapp will become only the second Buccaneer to have his jersey retired, after Lee Roy Selmon. [1]

Contents

Early years [edit]

Sapp was born in Orlando, Florida, and raised in Plymouth, Florida by a single mother.[2] During the late 1980s he was honored as an outstanding football player at Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida as a linebacker, tight end, place kicker, and punter.[3] Sapp holds school records for sacks, tackles for a loss, and longest field goal. A two sport athlete at Apopka High School, Sapp also played third base on the baseball team and hit a school record 24 homeruns his junior year for the Blue Darters. While playing football for Apopka High School, Sapp delivered a hit on baseball player Johnny Damon, a player from Dr. Phillips High School, resulting in a concussion for Damon.

In 2007, Sapp was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Florida.

College career [edit]

“ Warren [Sapp] has the power of a Cortez Kennedy and the quickness of a Russell Maryland. ”

—former University of Miami defensive tackle Mark Caesar.[4]

Many top national colleges sought him out as a football player; Sapp chose to play for the University of Miami. Converted to defensive lineman while there, Sapp won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player), the Rotary Lombardi Award (best lineman or linebacker) and the Bill Willis Award (best defensive lineman) all in 1994.

Awards and honors [edit]

Professional career [edit]

Sapp (during his tenure with the Bucs) visits members of the US Navy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers [edit]

After playing college football at the University of Miami where he was a defensive standout, Sapp was drafted into the NFL by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 draft (12th pick overall). Analysts at the time projected Sapp going much higher in the draft; partially due to reports of multiple failed cocaine and marijuana tests released the night before the draft, many teams passed on him. The NFL released a statement strongly denying the rumors, and Sapp today[5] feels that an unknown individual intentionally sabotaged his draft chances. Three years later (in 1998), Sapp signed a contract extension paying $36 million over six years.[2] Sapp ran the fastest time in the 40-yard dash for a defensive tackle, recording a 4.69 time. Upon joining Tampa Bay, Sapp was almost immediately given the starting job as right defensive tackle, a position he held for his entire nine-year stay in Tampa. He finished his rookie season with 27 tackles and one interception. Sapp continued to be a prolific, intimidating tackler for the Buccaneers, tallying 51 tackles and nine sacks in 1996 and 58 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 1997. In 1997, Sapp was named to his first Pro Bowl. It was the first of seven straight selections. Sapp was named 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the year.

He flourished in the Bucs' aggressive Tampa 2 defense, which allowed him to put his devastating combination of size and speed to good use. He was known to disrupt plays even when being double- or even triple-teamed on the line.[6]

Super Bowl XXXVII [edit]

In 2002, Sapp helped lead a resurgent Tampa Bay team to victory in Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders. Sapp had five tackles and two sacks during the 2002-2003 postseason, and was an instrumental staple in the league leading Buccaneers defense.

Sapp during his time with the Raiders.

Oakland Raiders [edit]

In 2004, it was reported that Sapp was interested in accepting a contract offer from the Cincinnati Bengals for four years worth US $16 million. However, on March 20, he announced that he had agreed to terms on a seven-year, $36.6 million contract with the Oakland Raiders, coincidentally the same team Sapp had faced in the Super Bowl a couple years prior.[2]

Sapp started all 16 games in his first season in Oakland, splitting time at defensive end as well as defensive tackle. Sapp recorded 30 tackles (18 solo), 2.5 sacks and recovered two fumbles.[7] Warren lost an estimated 20 pounds before joining the Raiders in 2004. Sapp's 2005 season started out as a great year for Sapp, as he was moved back to his familiar DT position. He started the first ten games of the season recording 29 tackles (26 of them solo), and finished second on the team to Derrick Burgess with five sacks.[7] Sapp was sidelined for the last six games of '05 with a shoulder injury.

Sapp returned to his All-Pro form in 2006. Sapp and the Raider defense were one of very few bright spots for the 2006 Raiders. Sapp had 10 sacks to go along with 32 tackles (16 solo) and one forced fumble. Before the 2007 season, he lost 49 pounds. He finished the 2007 season with 37 tackles (24 solo), 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

On January 3, 2008, Sapp told Raiders owner Al Davis over the phone that he would retire. The next day, January 4, 2008, Sapp confirmed it on his website qbkilla.com in just two words: "I'M DONE!"[8] The retirement became official on March 4, 2008.[9]

Legacy [edit]

Sapp is one of only six defensive players in NFL history to make the Pro Bowl, be named Defensive Player of the Year, and win a Super Bowl or NFL title. The others are Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White and Sapp's former teammate, Derrick Brooks. He is now reckoned as the prototype three-technique defensive tackle; ever since his retirement NFL teams scouting defensive tackles have reportedly been looking for a "Baby Sapp."[6]

He was selected to 7 Pro Bowls, was named a First-Team All-Pro four times and a Second-Team All-Pro twice, while adding a spot on the 1990s and 2000s All-Decade Teams and, most impressively, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors after an amazing 16.5-sack season in 1999. Sapp was a key player for the imposing Buc defenses of the late '90s and early '00s, truly the cog that made that defense go. He left the Bucs in free agency after the 2003 season to finish his career with the Oakland Raiders, but he'll be most remembered for his time with the Buccaneers.

Controversies [edit]

Mike Sherman confrontation [edit]

On November 24, 2002, at Raymond James Stadium, Sapp drew criticism for a cheap shot on the Green Bay Packers' Chad Clifton during an interception return by the Buccaneers. Clifton was jogging down field, away from the main action, and was blindsided by Sapp. Clifton suffered a severe pelvic injury on the play.[10] The hit sent Clifton to the hospital. He was hospitalized for almost a week and could not walk unaided for five more weeks. In 2005, the NFL Competition Committee agreed on new guidelines for "unnecessary roughness", making hits such as that suffered by Clifton illegal.

In an exchange caught by television cameras following the game, Packers' coach Mike Sherman approached Sapp and said to him, "That was a chicken shit play."[11] In response, Sapp screamed repeatedly at Sherman: "You're so tough? Put on a fucking jersey!"[10] Sherman later called Sapp "a lying, shit-eating hound. ... If I was 25 years old and didn't have a kid and a conscience, I would have given him an ass-kicking right there at the 30-yard line."[10] Sherman later said of Sapp: "The joviality that existed after [the hit] when a guy's lying on the ground, with numbness in his legs and fingers, I just thought that wasn't appropriate for any NFL player."[11]

The skipping incidents [edit]

During pre-game warm-ups of a December 23, 2002 Monday Night Football game at Raymond James Stadium, Warren skipped among the Pittsburgh Steelers players during their pre-game warmups. Steelers running back Jerome Bettis shoved Sapp, and this was followed by a heated argument between the two teams. Sapp was not fined for the incident, but it added to his controversial image. Sapp felt that he was made an example by the NFL by being fined for that first skipping incident. "That's all this is about," said Sapp. "In my nine years in this league, no one's been fined for verbally abusing officials. It's unprecedented."[12] The Buccaneers had been earlier ridiculed by Steelers' Lee Flowers as being "paper champions." Despite losing to the Steelers in that game, Sapp and the Buccaneers went on to win Super Bowl XXXVII five weeks later.

In 2003, during an October 6 Monday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sapp was scolded for skipping through and disrupting the Colts players, who were spread out on the field, stretching during pre-game warmups. There was much anticipation and national interest going into the game, which was the return of former head coach Tony Dungy to Tampa. The Colts wound up erasing a 21-point deficit in the final four minutes, and defeated the Buccaneers 38-35 in overtime, initiating a downslide for the defending champions.

A week later, on October 12, 2003, prior to the game against the Washington Redskins, Sapp was running onto the field when he bumped into an NFL referee. The incident drew a fine of $50,000. Sapp's response to the fine: "It's a slave system. Make no mistake about it. Slave master say you can't do it, don't do it. They'll make an example out of you."[13]

Ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct [edit]

On December 23, 2007, Sapp was involved in an altercation with NFL referees near the end of the second quarter of the Raiders' game at Jacksonville.[14]

The incident began when linesman Jerry Bergman mistakenly assumed that the Raiders wished to decline a Jacksonville 10-yard penalty. Sapp, the defensive captain, began speaking with referee Jerome Boger, indicating that the Raiders instead wished to accept the penalty. The conversation became heated, with Sapp gesturing and swearing. This resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct call by Boger against Sapp. Sapp and his defensive teammates continued interacting with the officials after the penalty was called, resulting in a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sapp and another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against teammate Derrick Burgess. Finally, the coaches and officiating staff entered the field and began physically separating and removing the arguing players. Boger claimed that during this time Sapp "bumped" him; Sapp denies making physical contact. Regardless, at this point Boger levied a third unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Sapp and ejected him from the game. Sapp did not play in the second half and was eventually fined $75,000 by the NFL; Burgess received a $25,000 fine.[15]

Personal life [edit]

In January 1998, Sapp married Jamiko Vaughn and the union bore two children: a daughter Mercedes in 1998, and Warren Carlos II in 2000.[16] The couple divorced in 2003; Sapp moved out of the $2.3 million, 18,000 square foot home in Windermere and into a 33rd floor half million dollar condominium he owns in Hollywood Beach, Florida. He pays his former spouse $60,000 a month in alimony and child support. Warren Sapp is also the only professional athlete to appear on a Comedy Central's Roast so far, where he roasted Larry the Cable Guy.

Sapp also has four other children with four other women, all but one born between 1997 and 2002. He pays a total of $75,495 per month to the other mothers of children he fathered. Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis used the same dating service.[2]

Activities [edit]

Sapp, Devin Bush and a developer created Urban Solutions Group in 2006 to construct low income houses in Fort Pierce, Florida. The PNC Bank loaned the group money, but by 2008, the real estate market tanked and the project ended in failure.[2]

On August 19, 2008, Sapp was hired as a studio analyst for Inside the NFL on Showtime.

In the fall of 2008, Sapp was runner-up on Season 7 of Dancing With The Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Kym Johnson.

He was one of the roasters in the Comedy Central Roast of Larry The Cable Guy in March, 2009.

Sapp is currently paid $45,000 per month as an analyst on the NFL Network where he is featured on NFL Total Access and NFL GameDay Morning. He also earns appearance fees for attending events. He is presently working on a book to be titled, Sapp Attack.[2]

In June 2012, Sapp teamed up with The NOC (Network Of Champions), a YouTube premium content channel, to produce a TV show series called "Judge Sapp". In Warren Sapp's court, real people resolve real issues before one of sports' most outspoken personalities. Unlike the People's Court, Judge Sapp features a DJ - Olympic snowboarder Louie Vito - and settlements determined by a casino-style wheel. He also participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice.[17]

In January 2013, Sapp joined forces with Bioengineer, Sleep Apnea Expert and Zyppah Inc. Founder Dr. Jonathan Greenburg to raise global awareness about the importance of getting tested and treated for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. The global awareness health initiative, Sleep Apnea Prevention Project (S.A.P.P.), includes a multi-part, mini-documentary focusing on Warren's journey as he sets out to conquer the condition of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. In doing so, he hopes to benefit from better sleep every night and help others, like him, find a viable solution to improve the quality of their sleep.

Domestic battery charges [edit]

On February 7, 2010, Sapp was arrested in South Florida and charged with domestic battery. Sapp was in Florida to appear as an analyst for the NFL Network's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, but following the arrest an NFL Network spokesman said Sapp would not appear.[18] On March 24, the charges against Sapp were dropped.

Bankruptcy [edit]

In 2010, PNC bank was awarded a judgment of $988,691.99. They filed a monthly lien of $33,333 against Sapp's $45,000 NFL Network paycheck in December, 2011. He also owed the Internal Revenue Service $853,003 from income in 2006 and $89,775 for 2010. He was $876,000 behind on alimony and child support to his former spouse and owed $68,738 for unpaid property taxes in Windemere. He also owes money to attorneys, friends and a speech therapist.[2]

The Associated Press reported on April 7, 2012 that Sapp filed for bankruptcy seeking to discharge debt from failed businesses. In the Chapter 7 filings, Sapp claimed to have lost the championship rings he won at the University of Miami and his Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers.[19] The balance in his checking and savings accounts was less than $1,000. He claimed no credit card debt and owns no automobiles, but owes National Car Rental $90,685 through his business, Nine-Nine LLC.[2] Court filings indicated Sapp's assets totaled $6.45 million against debt of $6.7 million. His monthly income was reported as $115,861.[20]

On November 1, 2012, Sapp's 10,000-square-foot house in Windermere was auctioned along with his extensive collection of Jordans.[21]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Parcells, Carter finally make Pro Football Hall of Fame". USA Today. Retrieved 2 February 2013. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cruse, Michael (April 15, 2012). "The play-by-play of Warren Sapp's 59-page bankruptcy filing". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 18 April 2012. 
  3. ^ "nflplayers.com". Warren Sapp #99. Retrieved May 1, 2007. 
  4. ^ Nobles, Charlie (November 2, 1994). "Syracuse Can't Scare Miami's Star Tackle". New York Times. 
  5. ^ Warren Sapp's interview on The Howard Stern Show, August 20th, 2012
  6. ^ a b "A beast on D-line, Warren Sapp became NFL legend in the '00s". USA Today. January 24, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b "Warren Sapp". Nfl.com. 1972-12-19. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  8. ^ "http". //www.qbkilla.com. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  9. ^ "ESPN - Sapp files paperwork, officially puts end to 13-year career - NFL". Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  10. ^ a b c "ESPN.com "Sherman angered by Sapp hit, celebration"". Static.espn.go.com. 2003-01-30. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  11. ^ a b "CNNSI.com "Sapp, Sherman sound off on third-quarter hit"". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2002-11-25. Retrieved 2010-09-28. 
  12. ^ "espn.go.com". NFL Threatens to Suspend Sapp. Retrieved May 1, 2007. 
  13. ^ "Sapp's Act Ceases to Be Amusing". USA Today. October 22, 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2007. 
  14. ^ White, David (December 27, 2007). "Sapp still gesturing, yelling, says he didn't touch official". The San Francisco Chronicle. 
  15. ^ White, David (December 27, 2007). "SFGate: Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Fine day: Sapp fined 75k, Burgess dinged for 25k". The San Francisco Chronicle. 
  16. ^ "Former NFL Star Warren Sapp’s Estranged Wife Jamiko Vaugn". August 4th, 2009. Baller Wives. Retrieved 24 April 2012. 
  17. ^ Hibberd, James (May 8, 2012). "Fox's 'The Choice' cast revealed! Joe Jonas, Dean Cain, The Situation, many more -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 11, 2013. 
  18. ^ ESPN.com news services (2010-02-07). "Sapp charged with domestic battery". ESPN.com (ESPN). Retrieved 2010-02-07. 
  19. ^ "Warren Sapp files for bankruptcy". 4/7/12. Retrieved 4/7/12. 
  20. ^ "Warren Sapp files for bankruptcy in Florida". The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Cox Enterprises). 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2012-04-08. 
  21. ^ Auction set for Warren Sapp's Windermere home

External links [edit]

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Preceded by
Jason Taylor & Edyta Śliwińska		 Dancing with the Stars (US) runner up
Season 7 (Fall 2008 with Kym Johnson)		 Succeeded by
Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke
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