Alonzo Robert Spellman (born September 27, 1971) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He also was a member of the Las Vegas Gladiators in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Early life

Spellman attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School in

Mount Holly, New Jersey Mount Holly is a Township (New Jersey), township that is the county seat of Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020. As ...

. As a senior

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, he stood tall and weighed approximately . He tallied 104 tackles and 14 sacks, receiving ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors, All-state and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Player of the Year honors. As a senior in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, he averaged 17 points and 22 rebounds per game.

College career

Spellman accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he was named a starter at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

, registering 10 tackles for loss (led the team), 4 sacks (tied for the team lead). Some observers in the media considered that this was his best position and best season in college. As a sophomore, he was moved to

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, posting 52 tackles (9 tackles for loss) and 2 sacks. He was suspended for the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

and placed on academic probation, after he was caught sending another person to take a classroom test for him. As a junior, he earned team MVP honors after making 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 passes defensed and one forced fumble in 9 games. He declared for the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

after the season.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Spellman was selected by the

in the first round (22nd overall) of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

, entering the league as a 20-year-old rookie. He was a backup behind future hall of famer

Richard Dent Richard Lamar Dent (born December 13, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl XX. He was elected ...

at right defensive end, making 30 tackles, 4 sacks (fourth on the team) and one pass defensed. In

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he tallied 28 tackles, and 2.5 sacks. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, new head coach Dave Wannstedt chose not to re-sign Dent and Spellman became the starter at right defensive end. He recorded 60 tackles, 7 sacks (second on the team), 8 passes defensed (third on the team) and one blocked kick. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, he was moved from right to left defensive end during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. He collected 66 tackles, 8.5 sacks (second on the team), 5 passes defensed and 4 forced fumbles. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, he posted 78 tackles, 8 sacks (led the team), 2 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles. He became a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

after the season, when his rookie contract expired. The

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

offered him a four-year $12 million contract that was matched by the Bears. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, he injured his left shoulder in the fourth game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, forcing him miss the next 5 contests. He also experienced some off-field incidents and was suspended for 3 games. He finished with 5 starts in 7 games, 15 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed. On November 26, he was re-instated to play against the

. On June 12,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he was waived after he refused to leave his publicist's house for eight hours during a standoff with the police, until being arrested. The next day, he left Good Shepherd Hospital, shirtless and shoeless in freezing weather.

Dallas Cowboys

On July 28,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, after being out of football for a year, the

took a gamble and signed him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after he was diagnosed and received treatment for

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. He was moved from

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

during

, and went on to register 16 starts, 43 tackles (tied for tenth on the team), 2 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback pressures (led the team) and 5 sacks (tied for second on the team). In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he started 15 games, finishing with 33 tackles (3 for loss), 7 quarterback pressures, 2 passes defensed and 5 sacks (second on the team). During his time with the Cowboys he was a solid player, but never regained the previous form he showed with the

Detroit Lions

On August 12,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he signed as a

with the

. He was cut to make room for

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Bert Emanuel on October 24.

Las Vegas Gladiators (AFL)

On October 18,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he was signed by the Las Vegas Gladiators of the

, after being out of football for 4 years. He played middle guard in the defense.

NFL career statistics

Struggles with bipolar disorder

Spellman exhibited erratic behavior during his time with the Bears. The first public incident occurred in March 1998 when Spellman became enraged when a doctor was late for an appointment. He pulled a telephone off of a wall and threatened

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Complicating matters, Spellman had access to

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

and by this time weighed approximately 300 lbs (136 kg). Authorities were called in, and friend and former teammate

Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), nicknamed "Samurai Mike", is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college foo ...

persuaded Spellman to check into a hospital. Spellman shortly left the hospital of his own accord. Spellman was diagnosed with

, but refused to take medication, instead becoming increasingly reliant on

illicit drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. An area has a prohibition of drugs when its government uses the for ...

and alcohol. This led to even more erratic behavior and run-ins with the law. These problems, along with his refusal to undergo

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgery, surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted in ...

on his injured shoulder led to Spellman's release by the Bears. Spellman started taking medication and successfully managed his disorder during his time with the Cowboys and Lions. However, after his NFL career ended, Spellman stopped taking his medication and again ran into problems with the law. Most notably, he had a

manic episode Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a psychiatric behavioral syndrome defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level. During a manic episode, an individual will experience rapidly changing emotions and moods, ...

on July 23, 2002, in which he disrupted a flight from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Spellman initially suggested that the flight was going to crash, then became verbally abusive to other passengers and threatened members of the

flight crew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviation, ...

. The plane was forced to make an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

. Spellman was released, but then damaged property at his brother's home and was taken to a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

. He was later arrested on charges of interference with a flight crew. Although doctors confirmed that he had bipolar disorder, Spellman was determined to be legally sane and spent 18 months in

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

. In interviews with

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, Spellman has said he now knows how important it is to take the medication for his disorder. He had hoped to return to the NFL, but his age and history presented significant barriers to a comeback. He is now "100 percent into" mixed martial arts. Spellman was arrested again on January 29, 2008, leading authorities on a pursuit after being involved in an apparent altercation at a

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

convenience store. The chase ended after three of the tires on Spellman's car were deflated by spike strips and pepper-spray pellets were fired after Spellman refused to get out of the vehicle. In June 2012, Spellman was released from prison after pleading no contest to ten counts of eluding police officers on the 2008 charge. Spellman was arrested again on November 2, 2015, after a motor vehicle stop for several outstanding warrants. After being taken into custody he was found in possession of marijuana. He was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and turned over to another jurisdiction for the warrant.

Personal life

Spellman made his

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

debut on November 11, 2006, defeating Antoine Hayes by unanimous decision. The fight was part of XFO 13, "Operation Beatdown", and took place at the Sears Centre in

Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village previously served as the headquarters for Transform Holdco L ...

References

External links

AFL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spellman, Alonzo 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Mount Holly, New Jersey Rancocas Valley Regional High School alumni Players of American football from Burlington County, New Jersey American football defensive linemen Ohio State Buckeyes football players Chicago Bears players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Las Vegas Gladiators players People with bipolar disorder American sportspeople convicted of crimes