Laveranues Coles
Encyclopedia
Laveranues Leon Coles is an American football
wide receiver
who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Jets
in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Florida State University
.
A Pro Bowl
selection in 2003
, Coles has also played for the Washington Redskins
and Cincinnati Bengals
.
. While attending Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Coles played football, basketball
, and ran track. In football, he rushed for nearly 5,000 yards in his career, was named to the Blue Chip Dream Team, and was a first team Class 4A All-State selection. In basketball, he was a member of a state championship team as a senior. In track, he recorded a time of 10.6 seconds in the 100 meter dash and 21.8 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Due to a scandal at Florida State which resulted in Coles's dismissal from the team, he often refers to his high school when introducing himself on Monday Night Football
.
went to a Tallahassee, Florida
Dillard's
department store and, with the aid of a cashier with whom they were friendly, purchased $412.38 worth of clothing and were charged only $21.40—a discount so large that it is considered shoplifting
under Florida law. An off-duty officer saw the event through a surveillance camera, according to police. Coles, Warrick, and the clerk, Rachel Myrtil, were arrested for grand theft. On October 22, Coles pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft
and was dismissed from the Florida State Seminoles
football team. At that year's rivalry game at the University of Florida
, Florida Gators
fans brought Dillard's bags to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
to mock the team. Florida State won the game, and Seminole fans returned the mocking by requesting the bags as souvenirs.
Coles childhood nickname was "Trouble". Coles was arrested in 1998 for simple battery
, suspended for the Seminoles' 1999 season opener
versus Louisiana Tech
for academic reasons, and discovered to have accepted a plane ticket from a sports agent
's representative in 1999.
in the third round (78th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft
. Coles's first career touchdown catch came in the Jets' "Monday Night Miracle
" victory against the Miami Dolphins
on October 23, 2000.
in the 2002 offseason and admitted that he left the Jets because the Redskins offered him more money. He made the Pro Bowl
for the Redskins in 2003. At the end of the 2004 season, Coles left the Redskins because of a lack of a deep passing game from Joe Gibbs
's conservative 2004-2005 offense.
. During the first year of his second stint with the Jets, Coles revealed that he had been sexually abused between ages 10 to 13 by a man whom his mother, Sirretta married. Coles refused to divulge the man's name. After the abuse was revealed, Sirretta Coles divorced the man, who was later sentenced to nine years in prison. He served about a third of his sentence and was released. He was convicted of another crime and has been imprisoned since 2001 for it.
After a disappointing season in 2005, Coles enjoyed a rebirth in 2006, directly due to the good health of quarterback, Chad Pennington
. On December 26, 2005 he caught the last touchdown in Monday Night Footballs last game on ABC
. Coles was released by the Jets on February 25, 2009.
on March 4, 2009. He would agree in principle to a four-year, $28 million contract.
He was released by the Bengals on March 4, 2010, exactly one year after signing with the organization.
On September 21, 2010, Coles was talked about in the media as an option to fill in for Braylon Edwards
, who was charged with a DWI
the previous night. Coles contemplated retirement.
On December 4, 2010 the Jets filled their open roster spot by signing Coles to yet another contract reuniting him with the Jets. The roster spot had been vacated when Jim Leonhard
was placed on injured reserve with a fractured tibia. Coles was able to rejoin the team in time for their Monday night game against the New England Patriots
for Week 13 of the NFL's 2010 season.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
.
A Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selection in 2003
2004 Pro Bowl
The 2004 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 8, 2004 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was NFC 55, AFC 52, the most points scored in a Pro Bowl game. Marc Bulger of the St. Louis Rams was the game's MVP.-Game summary:...
, Coles has also played for the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
.
Early years
Coles was born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. While attending Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Coles played football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and ran track. In football, he rushed for nearly 5,000 yards in his career, was named to the Blue Chip Dream Team, and was a first team Class 4A All-State selection. In basketball, he was a member of a state championship team as a senior. In track, he recorded a time of 10.6 seconds in the 100 meter dash and 21.8 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Due to a scandal at Florida State which resulted in Coles's dismissal from the team, he often refers to his high school when introducing himself on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
.
College career
On September 29, 1999, during his senior season at Florida State, Coles and teammate Peter WarrickPeter Warrick
Peter Warrick is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals fourth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
went to a Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
department store and, with the aid of a cashier with whom they were friendly, purchased $412.38 worth of clothing and were charged only $21.40—a discount so large that it is considered shoplifting
Shoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
under Florida law. An off-duty officer saw the event through a surveillance camera, according to police. Coles, Warrick, and the clerk, Rachel Myrtil, were arrested for grand theft. On October 22, Coles pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
and was dismissed from the Florida State Seminoles
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the men's and women's sports teams of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State participates in the NCAA's Division I . FSU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991, and competes in the Atlantic Division in any sports split into a...
football team. At that year's rivalry game at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, Florida Gators
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
fans brought Dillard's bags to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field is the football stadium for the University of Florida and the home field of the university's Florida Gators football team. It is located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The stadium was originally built in 1930, and has been regularly...
to mock the team. Florida State won the game, and Seminole fans returned the mocking by requesting the bags as souvenirs.
Coles childhood nickname was "Trouble". Coles was arrested in 1998 for simple battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
, suspended for the Seminoles' 1999 season opener
1999 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 1999 Florida State Seminoles football team was the national champion of the 1999 college football season. The team finished with a perfect 12-0 record, and was the first in NCAA history to go "wire-to-wire," being ranked continuously as the nation's #1 team from the preseason through the bowl...
versus Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
for academic reasons, and discovered to have accepted a plane ticket from a sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
's representative in 1999.
First stint with Jets
Coles was drafted by the New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the third round (78th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
. Coles's first career touchdown catch came in the Jets' "Monday Night Miracle
The Monday Night Miracle (American football)
In the National Football League, "The Monday Night Miracle" refers to a Monday night game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played at Giants Stadium on October 23, 2000.-Background:...
" victory against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on October 23, 2000.
Washington Redskins
After a spectacular 2002 season, Coles signed with the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in the 2002 offseason and admitted that he left the Jets because the Redskins offered him more money. He made the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
for the Redskins in 2003. At the end of the 2004 season, Coles left the Redskins because of a lack of a deep passing game from Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...
's conservative 2004-2005 offense.
Second stint with Jets
He was traded back to the Jets in 2005 for Santana MossSantana Moss
Santana Terrell Moss is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Miami.-Early years:...
. During the first year of his second stint with the Jets, Coles revealed that he had been sexually abused between ages 10 to 13 by a man whom his mother, Sirretta married. Coles refused to divulge the man's name. After the abuse was revealed, Sirretta Coles divorced the man, who was later sentenced to nine years in prison. He served about a third of his sentence and was released. He was convicted of another crime and has been imprisoned since 2001 for it.
After a disappointing season in 2005, Coles enjoyed a rebirth in 2006, directly due to the good health of quarterback, Chad Pennington
Chad Pennington
James Chadwick "Chad" Pennington is an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for ten years. He is currently a football analyst with FOX Sports though he plans to return to playing after recovering from an injury...
. On December 26, 2005 he caught the last touchdown in Monday Night Footballs last game on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Coles was released by the Jets on February 25, 2009.
Cincinnati Bengals
Coles was signed by the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
on March 4, 2009. He would agree in principle to a four-year, $28 million contract.
He was released by the Bengals on March 4, 2010, exactly one year after signing with the organization.
Third and fourth stint with Jets
The Jets announced Coles had been signed to a one-year contract on July 30, 2010. However, his stay would be brief as the team waived Coles after nearly a month on August 29, 2010.On September 21, 2010, Coles was talked about in the media as an option to fill in for Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards
-Cleveland Browns:-2005:Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – he would have started higher, but a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it....
, who was charged with a DWI
DWI
DWI is an acronym which means:* Driving while intoxicated, see Driving under the influence* Driving while impaired* Danish West Indies* Diffusion-weighted imaging, a technique used in magnetic resonance imaging* Drinking Water Inspectorate...
the previous night. Coles contemplated retirement.
On December 4, 2010 the Jets filled their open roster spot by signing Coles to yet another contract reuniting him with the Jets. The roster spot had been vacated when Jim Leonhard
Jim Leonhard
James Andrew "Jim" Leonhard is an American football safety for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Leohnard has also played for the Baltimore Ravens...
was placed on injured reserve with a fractured tibia. Coles was able to rejoin the team in time for their Monday night game against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
for Week 13 of the NFL's 2010 season.