SPORTS LEGEND: A former football Rookie of the Year was involved, without his knowledge, is two separate nationwide scams.

John Brockington was a star at Ohio State when he helped lead the team to a definitive spot as the 1968 National Champions.

He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the ninth overall draft pick in 1971.

He won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award on the way to having a very impressive career in the National Football League, although a relatively short-lived one (he had a lot of wear and tear on his body), making the All-Pro team and the Pro-Bowl his first three seasons, but he was finished with football by 1977.

That’s when things got a little more interesting.

First off, Brockington got involved in the so-called “Captain Money” Ponzi scheme that is quite similar to the current Bernie Madoff scandal.

Brockington was conned by San Diego (which is where Brockington settled down at after his NFL career ended) conman Jerry David Dominelli into thinking the investment scheme was a sound one, and Brockington helped bring in friends of his into the scheme, using his celebrity to draw people in. However, after the scheme fell apart and Dominelli was sent to prison, it was revealed that Brockington had nothing to do with the scam, he just honestly thought that it was a good deal.

Brockington then was involved at the ground floor of a sports marketing company known as USA Nutrition during the mid-80s. Again, the company seemed almost too good to be true, and it WAS, as some of the nutrition products it sold were revealed to be pretty faulty, and a number of people died from using them. Once again, though, Brockington was just an investor and an endorser.

Still, how amazing must it be to be involved so dramatically in two scandals like that?

I guess when you retire from professional sports early, you’re always looking for something to keep yourself busy.

Later on, Brockington’s luck seemed to be going the same direction when his kidneys failed around 2001. However, his girlfriend of the time donated her kidney to save his life and the couple married soon after and are still together today.

So I guess the clouds cleared out after all…

STATUS: True

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