Rashard Anderson is a former American football

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...

 cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 in the NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 who played for the Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...

. Anderson was selected by the Panthers in the first round (23rd 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...

. In his first NFL season, he appeared in 12 games, recording 21 tackles. Anderson ended the 2001 season with 47 tackles and his only career interception in 15 games.

Anderson was suspended for a year by the NFL on May 23, 2002 for violating the NFL's substance abuse

Substance abuse

A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...

 policy. The suspension was extended for the 2003 season after Anderson failed to meet the requirements for reinstatement. Anderson was finally reinstated by the NFL following the 2003 season. Rashard Anderson was released by the Panthers on the same day.