Fred Lane

NFL player


DateOfBirth=September 6, 1975
Birthplace= Franklin, Tennessee
DateOfDeath=July 6, 2000 (age age|1975|9|6|2000|7|6)
College=Lane
Position=Running back
number=32
years=1997-1999
teams=Carolina Panthers
Stats=y
DatabaseFootball=LANEFRE01
PFR=LaneFr00

Freddie Brown Lane, Jr. (September 6, 1975 – July 6,2000) was an American football running back in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers.

Upbringing and High School career

Lane was born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee. His father, Fred Lane, Sr., was a star at the old Natchez High School (which later desegregated with Franklin High). Attending Franklin Junior High School, it was noticed that Lane possessed uncommon speed and agility for such a young player.

Lane attended Franklin High School, amassing over 1,000 yards his senior year, while averaging 7.5 yards per carry. His number, 28, is retired by the school.

College career

Lane attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He finished his career with 3,612 rushing yards, just ten yards behind Tre Rowland.

Pro career

Lane was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Panthers before the 1997 NFL season. He set a then-team record that year with a 147 rushing yard performance. During his three years with the Panthers, he accumulated 2,001 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. His six games of 100+ rushing yards is tied for second all-time on the team, and his total rushing yards over three seasons remains second all-time. However, he began having personal problems in 1999. He was suspended by the Panthers for off-field issues. In April 2000, his wife Deidra Lane filed a complaint against him for domestic violence. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts, where he was set to back up Edgerrin James.

Death

However, Lane never got the opportunity to play for the Colts. On July 6, 2000, just days after an indictment by a Tennessee grand jury on drug charges, he was shot by his wife Deidra during a domestic dispute. Law enforcement investigators believe Lane shot her husband moments after he arrived at their Mecklenburg home for the $5 million in life insurance he carried.

Deidra pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. She claimed that Fred emotionally and physically abused her; however, the judge ruled that the shooting was premeditated and that she deliberately shot Fred twice, even though the first shot rendered him helpless. The judge determined that those factors outweighed the alleged abuse and gave her 8-years in prison; the maximum sentence allowed. On her papers she is eligible for release on March 3, 2009 and is serving her sentence at Raleigh Correctional Center for Women. cite news | title = Widow jailed for killing NFL husband | url = http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/05/nflplayer.killed.ap/index.html | publisher = CNN | date = 2003-11-05 | accessdate = 2007-04-20]

References