Many players on the 2008 University of Florida football team were arrested, as depicted in the FX/Hulu seriesAmerican Sports Story. Josh Rivera leads theAmerican Sports StorycastasAaron Hernandez, the former collegiate and NFL superstar tight endwho was convicted ofmurdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloydin 2015. The first two episodes ofAmerican Sports Storycapture a basic understanding of Aaron Hernandez’s complicated upbringing, tumultuous family life, and accelerated path to becoming a Florida Gator before joining the NFL’s New England Patriots in 2010.
American Sports Storyportrays several NFL players and coaches, including Hernandez. It chronicles the peak of head coach Urban Meyer’s tenure at the University of Florida, leading the Gators to national championship victories in 2006 and 2008. Despite the University of Florida having one of the best football programs in the country, several players had real-life run-ins with the law. Hernandez was among the playersarrested after he got into a bar fight. He was also questioned in a shooting that took place in Gainesville but never faced criminal charges.
American Sports Story References 21 Florida Football Players Who Were Arrested
American Sports Storyreferences 21 players on the 2008 University of Florida football team, including future NFL Most Valuable PlayerCam Newton, who stole a laptopand faced several felony charges. As depicted in the series, head coach Urban Meyer was forced to deal with these numerous arrests as they not only jeopardized the futures of his very talented football team but the entire University of Florida football organization at large.
Meyer is called to meet with the President of the university to answer for these various unlawful actionsdone by his players and justify his decision to keep them all on the team instead of cutting them. During Urban Meyer’s meeting with University of Florida President Bernie Machen inAmerican Sports Story, President Machen noted a total of 21 Florida players who had been arrested over the past three years.
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Meyer tries to rationalize the excessive number, saying that they’re young kids who are prone to make mistakes. The President responded by saying that the football program is becoming a stain on the university and Meyer must enforce some disciplinary measures to stop the bleeding. Meyer understands but is enraged as he storms out of the President’s office, saying,“Would we even be having this conversation if we were 8-0?”.
31 University Of Florida Football Players Were Arrested During Urban Meyer’s Coaching Tenure
WhileAmerican Sports Storyreferences 21 arrests during Meyer’s first three years as head coach, a total of31 University of Florida football players were arrested during his six seasonsas their head coach.American Sports Storydepicts Meyer having to make an example out of one of his players as a result. Ultimately, the series frames Cam Newton as a scapegoat who took the harshest punishment after several players, including Hernandez, had gotten arrested or implicated for various crimes.
In reality, Newton was suspended from the Gators after receiving felony charges for stealing a laptop but made the decision to transfer on his own accord. Other players, like Hernandez, received suspensions. After having 21 players arrested during his first three seasons as the head coach of the University of Florida, Meyer would improve and reduce that number to just 10 over his final three seasons with the team.
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Many of the players were arrested because of possession of cannabis or battery/assault. Some of the most shocking and serious arrests include Jamar Hornsby, who stole a deceased Florida student’s credit card and used it to make more than 70 purchases totaling more than $3,000. He was one of the few players who were ultimately cut from the team, while most of the arrested players faced little to no discipline from the University of Florida and had their charges dropped.
What Each Florida Football Player Was Arrested For
Many of the University of Florida players had their felony charges altered to misdemeanors or dropped completely. While many of the arrests made were for weed possession, assault, and theft, some specific incidents were more severe or odd. In December 2009, Carlos Dunlap was charged with a DUI after falling asleep at a stoplight. Chris Rainey was charged with felony stalking in September 2010. Jacques Rickerson was charged with felony domestic violence in November 2008 and was immediately released from the team. As depicted inAmerican Sports Story, Hernandez was not the only Florida Gator who had legal issues.
2005
Battery, theft, disorderly conduct
Suspended indefinitely, community service
2006
Cannabis possession
3 game suspension, community service
Domestic battery
Suspension, charges dropped
2007
1 game suspension, charges dropped
Resisting arrest
Charges dropped
Assault, battery, carrying a concealed weapon
1 year suspension, 100 hours community service
Violation of probation
Case dismissed
Felony theft
Purchase & possession of cannabis
Charges dropped, 1 game suspension
Charges dropped, removed as team captain
Assault (as a juvenile)
2008
4 Misdemeanors for using a stolen credit card
Dismissed from team, community service
Assault and battery
Dismissed from team, charges dropped
Felony domestic violence
Dismissed from team, probation
Felony burglary
Suspended for rest of season
2009
Failure to comply with a police officer
Violation of restraining order
Driving with a suspended license
Dismissed from team
Burglary, battery
Dismissed from team, case dismissed
Suspension, probation
1 game suspension, community service
2010
Suspended, scholarship revoked
Minor in possession of alcohol
Felony stalking
Dismissed from team, rejoined in 2012
Urban Meyer remains a respected college football coach in terms of his coaching skills, but he has been involved in several controversies that have tainted his reputation on and off the field.Meyer took a leave of absence from Florida after suffering from chest pains and dehydration. He chose to step down as the head coach in 2009 because of health concerns, and it seemed his head coaching career had ended. However, he returned in 2010 and only lasted one more season before he retired again after that season.
Meyer claimed it was again for health reasons, but the investigation into Florida’s football team was released shortly after his retirement. Mayer was accused of creating a toxic culture in the locker room. “The program,” former Florida safety Bryan Thomas said, “was out of control” (viaSporting News). Despite this news, one year later, Meyer was back and the new head coach of Ohio State. Meyer coached Ohio State to an 83-9 overall record before he retired, again claiming health concerns.
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Three years later, he was coaching again, this time in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars.It was the worst era of Meyer’s coaching career.Meyers made several mistakes. He hired Chris Doyle despite accusations of racism and bullying in his college career. Doyle resigned less than 48 hours later (viaUSA Today). Meyer brought in Tim Tebow, one of his Florida stars. He turned the quarterback into a tight end and released him after just one game. The NFL fined him $100,000 for violating league rules in 2021.
Things got worse in 2021 when a video surfaced of Meyer after a game where he was at a restaurant he owned in Ohio (viaUSA Today). The video showed a woman who was not his wife dancing close to Meyer, and the Jaguars reprimanded him for going to the restaurant instead of returning to Jacksonville with his team after a loss. When Meyer blamed his assistants for the team’s struggles, it started destroying his locker room. Finally, on June 25, 2025, the Jags fired Meyer. His record was 2-11.
2008 Gators Who Weren’t Arrested But Are Noteworthy
Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, & Joe Haden
While the 2008 Florida Gators had plenty of controversy, that doesn’t mean the entire team was causing problems.The biggest example of a player who remained mostly spotless while in college was the team’s starting quarterback, Tim Tebow.His backup, Cam Newton, was arrested on felony charges for stealing a laptop, but Tebow kept his nose clean and remained one of the most loyal and honest players on the Gators team. Tebow led the team to two National Championships and had a short NFL career after leaving college.
Another notable player from the team was Percy Harvin. A junior wide receiver, Harvin was part of both Florida National Championship teams and then had a fantastic NFL career. The Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round in 2009, and he later played for the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Buffalo Bills. He won a Super Bowl, was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and finished his career with 353 receptions for 4,026 yards and 22 touchdowns before retiring in 2016.
Joe Haden was a freshman member of the 2008 Florida Gators team. The cornerback went on to the NFL when the Cleveland Browns made him their first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played for Cleveland for seven seasons and then the Pittsburgh Steelers for five seasons before retiring after the 2021 NFL season. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL and finished his career with 615 tackles and 29 interceptions.
American Sports Story
Cast
American Sports Story is a TV show from Stu Zicherman and executive produced by Ryan Murphy. The series stars Josh Andrés Rivera as Aaron Hernandez and Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow. The sports anthology series serves as the fourth installment in Murphy’s “American Story” franchise.
