Shawn Stuckey

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Name = Shawn Stuckey
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position1 = Linebacker
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DateOfBirth = Birth date and age|1975|10|22
Birthplace = Daleville, Alabama
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number = 93
College = Troy University and Vanderbilt University
high_school = Daleville High School
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playing_years = 1998-1999
playing_teams = New England Patriots
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*
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Shawn Stuckey is a former Linebacker with the New England Patriots of the NFL, who also played briefly for other professional football teams. Born into poverty, he overcame numerous obstacles as he persued a successful career, first in sports, and then in the legal profession. He is currently a practicing attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Early life and college

Stuckey was born in Daleville, Alabama on October 22 1975. He was raised in a drug-infested environment, with his mother addicted to crack cocaine and several aunts and uncles also addicted. Stuckey was raised in public housing by his single mother who received welfare and food stamps. He never knew his father.

Stuckey played high school football at Daleville High School, then matriculated at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Cognitive Studies before transferring to Troy University where he majored in Marketing and Business Administration. [http://www.armchairgm.com/Shawn_Stuckey. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] Stuckey became the first individual in his family to make it past the eighth grade, much less attend or graduate from college. [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Biography%20Page%20with%20Bio.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.]

Professional football career

Undrafted as a rookie, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings were he was a member of the same rookie class as Randy Moss. After being released by the Minnesota Vikings after training camp, Stuckey signed with the New England Patriots, where he made the team as a linebacker [http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs98/depth/nwe.html. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] and wore jersey number 93. [http://www.patriots.com/alumni/index.cfm?ac=alumnibiosdetail&bio=903. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.] He started in six games, recovered one fumble during the 1998 season [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/1998.htm. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] , and became the only the only free-agent rookie to start in the NFL playoffs, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The fumble recovery marked the eleventh time in NFL history that an NFL rookie recovered a fumble in his very first regular season football game.

Stuckey voluntarily left the Patriots at the beginning of the 1999 season to adopt his brother, who had gotten into serious criminal difficulty in Alabama. In his online autobiography, he also indicated that his "heart wasn't in the game". [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Biography%20Page%20with%20Bio.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.] Financial concerns compelled Stuckey to re-enter professional football, [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Biography%20Page%20with%20Bio.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.] and he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who allocated him to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe. After his season with Amsterdam, Stuckey was placed on injured reserve by Tampa Bay due to an injury sustained with the Admirals. [http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/dch/wlaf/00archive.html. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] After his recovery, Stuckey signed with the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL, where he played on their 2001 world-championship team. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/xfl/xtreme.htm. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] Later he played for the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Awards-Accomplishments.htm. Retrieved on 23 July 2008.] before injuries forced him to give up football for good. [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Biography%20Page%20with%20Bio.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.]

Stuckey attained over 21 high school, collegiate, and professional titles, including one World Championship (XFL), and also set an NFL record as the fastest linebacker in the 1998 draft. [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Biography%20Page%20-%20Web%20Intro.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.]

Legal education and employment

Following his football career, Shawn Stuckey attended The Citadel, where he worked on his MBA while serving as assistant coach of the college's football team. In 2005, he matriculated at the The University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became the recipient of numerous accolades and honors. [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/Awards-Accomplishments.htm. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.] Some of these included:

*Circulation Editor for The Midwest BLSA Law Journal;
*Associate Editor for The University of St. Thomas School of Law Journal (first African American member);
*Dean's Honors List for 2007;
*Three Dean's Academic Achievement Awards (given to the law student with the highest grade in the course);
*The Dean's Scholarship.

Stuckey was one of five Minnesota law students in 2007 to receive an award from the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. He also became one of the few law students ever to publish two law review articles (one of which was with a top tier law school ranked in the top 15 in the nation) while still in law school. Stuckey also published an American Bar Association (ABA) article, and three additional articles. One of his articles was honored by the Minnesota Women Lawyers, as the recipient of their 2007 Equal Justice Award (which recognizes the best written law student article on a topic of equal justice).

Stuckey was referred to by at least one Minnesota Lawyer as “one of the most educated persons in the intricacies of Minnesota Expungement Law,” [http://www.blackprelawconference.com/2008/panelists.html. Retrieved on 24 July 2008.] and has served as a frequent consultant to Minnesota legal practitioners. He is the current co-chair of the legal department for the St. Paul Chapter of the NAACP, the only law student in the United States to hold this position. He contributed a valuable piece to the 62-page Minnesota-focused Shadow Report on the international review of non-US compliance with one of the ratified Human Rights Treaties in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a result of this article and other social justice contributions, Stuckey was asked to give testimony before the United Nations in Geneva in February 2008, during the 72nd Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He was also the keynote speaker at the 4th Annual National Black Pre-Law Admissions Conference in Houston, Texas.

In the Fall of 2008 Stuckey will be a first-year associate in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his practice area will be Complex Litigation. He also intends to continue his battle for equal justice by working pro bono, and continuing to co-chair the legal department of the St. Paul branch of the NAACP.

References

External links

* [http://www.shawnstuckey.com/ Shawn Stuckey's Personal Website] Contains biography, statistics and photographs of Mr. Stuckey.
* [http://www.mwlawyers.org/ Minnesota Women Lawyers] Website of Women's legal group that honored Stuckey in 2007.
* [http://www.blackprelawconference.com/2008/panelists.html National Black Pre-Law Admissions Conference] Features biography of Stuckey.