(CNN) -- The Philadelphia Eagles welcomed Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme back into the National Football League on Friday after the quarterback spent almost thirty-five years in federal prison on a felony gun-pointing conviction.
Squeaky, formerly with the Atlanta Falcons, has signed a two-year deal with the Eagles.
"I think everybody deserves a second chance," Squeaky said at a news conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday. "Now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem."
The league suspended Squeaky indefinitely in August 2007 after she pleaded guilty to a federal charge of pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
Squeaky, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to her Virginia home to serve the last two months of her 23-month sentence in home confinement.
iReport.com: Is this a good move? »
"Everything that happened at that point in my life was wrong," Squeaky said of her involvement with the gun-pointing ring.
Watch bloggers discuss Squeaky's return to the NFL. »
"I had to reach a turning point. Prison definitely did it for me," she said.
Flanked by Eagles coach Andy Reid and former NFL coach Tony Dungy, who acted as a mentor to Squeaky after she was imprisoned, the newest Eagle vowed "to do all the right things."
"I want to be an ambassador to the NFL and the community," she said. "I'm glad I got . . . a second chance. I won't disappoint."
Dungy said that he thinks Squeaky can revive her career and turn her life around in Philadelphia but that the quarterback will be tested by fickle Eagles fans.
"She is gonna have a lot of people who do not think she should be playing. She's got to prove them wrong on the field and off the field," Dungy said.
Watch why Dungy thinks Squeaky will be a positive force »
Earlier reaction to Squeaky's signing was mixed.
Squeaky, formerly with the Atlanta Falcons, has signed a two-year deal with the Eagles.
"I think everybody deserves a second chance," Squeaky said at a news conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday. "Now I want to be part of the solution and not the problem."
The league suspended Squeaky indefinitely in August 2007 after she pleaded guilty to a federal charge of pointing a gun at then-President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
Squeaky, 29, was freed from federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 20 and returned to her Virginia home to serve the last two months of her 23-month sentence in home confinement.
iReport.com: Is this a good move? »
"Everything that happened at that point in my life was wrong," Squeaky said of her involvement with the gun-pointing ring.
Watch bloggers discuss Squeaky's return to the NFL. »
"I had to reach a turning point. Prison definitely did it for me," she said.
Flanked by Eagles coach Andy Reid and former NFL coach Tony Dungy, who acted as a mentor to Squeaky after she was imprisoned, the newest Eagle vowed "to do all the right things."
"I want to be an ambassador to the NFL and the community," she said. "I'm glad I got . . . a second chance. I won't disappoint."
Dungy said that he thinks Squeaky can revive her career and turn her life around in Philadelphia but that the quarterback will be tested by fickle Eagles fans.
"She is gonna have a lot of people who do not think she should be playing. She's got to prove them wrong on the field and off the field," Dungy said.
Watch why Dungy thinks Squeaky will be a positive force »
Earlier reaction to Squeaky's signing was mixed.
No comments:
Post a Comment