Kevin Eugene Allen (born June 21, 1963) is an American former professional

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player who was a tackle in the

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(NFL) for one season for the

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. He played

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for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

Allen is an alumnus of Northwest High School in Cincinnati.

NFL banning

Allen was selected by the

with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

. His career started against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, a game where the Giants recorded eight sacks. By midseason, Allen was relegated to Special Teams. During the offseason, Allen moved to the center position. Eagles coach

Buddy Ryan James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the ...

thought so little of Allen that he once described him as someone who could only be useful "if you want someone to stand around and kill the grass... he looks like a

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

reject." In 2011,

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ranked Allen the fourth-worst NFL player of all time, noting "The ninth overall pick out of Indiana had a special way of blocking opposing pass rushers. He would lean his body forward, then fall down." and "Never had the Eagles had a combination of bad person-bad player that could match this guy." When

was asked in an interviewed about him missing practice due to being treated at a local hospital for dehydration he said 'You mean the General?' when asked about Allen's whereabouts. 'You know we all call him the General, don't you? For General Hospital. After a poor rookie season, Allen tested positive for

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

after reporting to Eagles training camp in 1986. The Eagles released him in October 1986. Days after being cut, Allen and his roommate, Scott Cartwright, were charged with

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. Allen was sentenced to 15 years in prison, serving 33 months in prison, while Cartwright was sentenced to seven years. He was banned from the league for life soon afterward. In the spring of 1991, Allen's ban was lifted. After failed tryouts with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

signed Allen in 1991, assigning him to the

Orlando Thunder The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visi ...

in the WLAF. He became the Thunder's starting right tackle for the 1992 season, recording at least 16 pancake blocks. Allen would later move on to 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 ...

, playing for three teams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Keith 1963 births Living people Players of American football from Cincinnati American football offensive tackles American football centers American people convicted of rape Indiana Hoosiers football players Philadelphia Eagles players Kansas City Chiefs players Orlando Thunder players Cincinnati Rockers players Charlotte Rage players Miami Hooters players American sportspeople convicted of crimes