Ex-NFL star Dexter Manley feels punishment for drug charges harsh

HOUSTON (AP) _ While he accepts his recently imposed two-year jail sentence for drug related charges, former NFL star Dexter Manley says the punishment was unfair. <br><br>Manley, who played for Oklahoma

Thursday, April 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ While he accepts his recently imposed two-year jail sentence for drug related charges, former NFL star Dexter Manley says the punishment was unfair.

Manley, who played for Oklahoma State, was sentenced last week for evidence tampering after he was convicted on March 20 of swallowing cocaine during a January 2001 drug bust.

When he failed to show up for a court-ordered meeting after his conviction, an arrest warrant was issued for him. Manley was arrested at a Houston hospital, where he checked in for treatment of depression.

``It was a great mistake I made'' not showing up for the court-ordered meeting, Manley told Houston television station KRIV in an interview Wednesday from the Harris County Jail. ``If I had to do it all over again I would not do the same thing. I would adhere to what the judge asked me to do.''

However, Manley, 43, called the two-year sentence ``harsh,'' saying he had done everything the courts had asked him to do since his January 2001 arrest.

``I do see that you do need mental health counseling because you are so self-destructive but I also think you need to be punished,'' District Judge Elsa Alcala said during Manley's sentencing.

Manley, who grew up in Houston, was a star with the Washington Redskins. But he failed a drug test in 1989 and was suspended from the NFL. The next year he joined the Arizona Cardinals and later played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he retired in 1991 after a second failed drug test.

The defensive end was arrested four times from November 1994 to July 1995 for possessing small quantities of crack cocaine. He later was convicted and served 15 months of a four-year sentence. He was paroled in November 1996.

``The committee that's on my shoulder tells me to give in to all the demons and devils and so I have listened to the committee once again,'' Manley told the Houston television station. ``I must accept what I am. It's a lot of humiliation and a lot of shame. I've fallen from grace.''

However, Manley remains hopeful he can overcome his demons.

``This is the toughest thing I will ever have to do and I have no doubt in my mind I will beat this.''