Prince Shembo (born December 24, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the

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. He played college football at

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

High school career

Prince attended Ardrey Kell High School in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. He played in only five games during the senior campaign. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason and then was suspended from school on September 16, 2009 for an aggressive incident directed at a teacher. He recorded 86 tackles with nine sacks and added two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a junior in 2008, and made 117 tackles during sophomore season in 2007 and was named to 2007 all-Observer team by Charlotte Observer. Considered a four-star recruit by ''

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'', he was rated as the 7th best

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pla ...

in the nation. He accepted a scholarship offer from

over offers from

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, and

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College career

As a true freshman, he saw action in all 13 games in 2010. He was one of six freshmen to make their Irish debut against Purdue, and one of three freshmen to play in every game. He registered 15 tackles on the year, including six solo stops and nine assisted tackles, and had five tackles for loss and four and a half sacks. In 2011, he appeared in 12 games for the Irish, while starting eight contests. He totaled 31 tackles, including three and a half for loss, and also had a pair of sacks. In his junior season in 2012, Shembo set career highs in tackles (51), tackles for loss (10.5), sacks (7.5) and quarterback hurries (12), and earned first-team all-independent honours. As a senior, he started all 13 games, totaling 46 tackles, including 5.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hurries.

Professional career

Shembo was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (139th overall) of the

. He signed with the Falcons on May 18, 2014. The Falcons waived Shembo on May 29, 2015, after he was arrested for aggravated cruelty to animals after allegedly killing his girlfriend's dog. Shembo's attorney says Shembo accidentally killed the

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from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

in 1986. His sister, Christelle Shembo, is a forward for the

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

women's basketball team.

Controversies

High school suspension

In 2009, his senior year of high school, Shembo was suspended for throwing a desk at a teacher who had taken away his cell phone.

Sexual battery accusation and suicide of Lizzy Seeberg

During the 2014

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, Shembo admitted that as a Notre Dame student in 2010 he was accused of inappropriately touching Lizzy Seeberg, who accused him of sexual assault. Lizzy Seeberg, a female student at nearby Saint Mary's College, later died by suicide. Shembo said that he is innocent of the accusation. Seeberg's father responded by claiming that Notre Dame was negligent in investigating Seeberg's accusation for fear of outing Shembo.

Death of girlfriend's dog

On May 29, 2015, Shembo was arrested by Gwinnett Police after being accused of killing his girlfriend's dog.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shembo, Prince 1991 births Living people American people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina Atlanta Falcons players American football linebackers Campus sexual assault Sex scandals in the United States