Former British NFL player Lawrence Okoye was arrested in a prostitution sting on Thursday -- three days before he was due to make his Alliance of American Football League (AAF) debut.
The 6'6"defensive tackle - who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics - was one of 13 people taken into custody by police in Alabama. He was released on $1,000 bail on Friday before sitting out the newly-founded AAF's opening weekend with a groin injury.
Okoye was projected to start in the Birmingham Iron's 26-0 win over the Memphis Express, but head coach Tim Lewis confirmed the team is now deciding whether to keep Okoye around, stating: “We are aware of [the arrest]. We’re still in the process of gathering all the information.”
Sunday's game with the Irons would only have been Okoye's second competitive football game since the London-born player transitioned to the sport from a rugby and discus background. It was seen as a big step towards an NFL return for the 27-year-old, who bounced around the league until 2017.
Okoye originally impressed scouts in 2013 with a 4.78 40-yard dash and 36-inch vertical -- despite being 300 pounds. He spent two seasons on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad before finding his way to the Arizona Cardinals -- where he was infamously released after parking in head coach Bruce Arians' space.
The record-holding discus thrower spent time with the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins before getting his one career start in the Canadian Football League.
Before making the jump to American football, Okoye placed 12th in the London 2012 men's discus while he also spent time with the Wasps and London Irish rugby academies growing up.
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