Newz Forum: FOOTBALL: Ex-Redskins player sentenced for drug arrest

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Washington Redskins offensive lineman George Starke was sentenced to one year's probation and a $50 fine for drug possession. Starke was also ordered to attend drug rehabilitation.

District of Columbia police stopped Starke on May 14 when an officer noticed he was not wearing his seat belt, according to charging documents. He was also charged with driving on a suspended license, and a search of the car revealed seven grams of coc aine, prosecutors said.

Starke, 58, initially denied the allegations, saying the car was taken from the motor pool of the Excel Institute Automotive Program, a trade school he runs for troubled teens.

But at a hearing last month, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of crack coc aine possession. Afterward, Starke told reporters the drugs were not his, and that he pleaded guilty to avoid the expense of a trial. That upset a D.C. Superior Court judge, who on Monday asked Starke if he possessed crack coc aine at the time of his arrest. He admitted he had.

Starke had nothing to say to reporters on his way out of court Monday.

Starke played left tackle for the Redskins from 1973-84. He was a member of the "Hogs,'' the team's celebrated offensive line.