Jay Graham, a former NFL player turned high school football coach, was arrested in a prostitution sting this week after he allegedly paid to have sex with a 16-year-old girl.
The former running back allegedly responded to a fake adult escort website and agreed to pay US$120 to have sex with a woman, even after the person he believed he was talking to admitted to being under the age of consent.
Graham was taken into custody immediately after arriving at a Nashville hotel and allegedly handing the cash to an undercover police officer, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Graham is charged with patronizing prostitution with a minor and solicitation of a minor for aggravated statutory rape. According to police, his bond was set at $45,000.
Police also reported that two other men were arrested in the sting operation and are facing similar charges.
After playing college football at University of Tennessee, earning a nod on the All-SEC team in 1995, Graham was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He played three seasons with the Ravens before suiting up for a season each with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Over his five-year NFL career, Graham played 36 games, gaining 454 rushing yards and scoring two touchdowns.
After leaving the NFL, Graham spent the next two decades as a college assistant coach at multiple schools, winning a national title with Florida State University in 2013, according to the Tennessean.
He was then hired this past March by Centennial High School in Franklin, Tenn.
According to the Tennessean, Williamson County Schools district fired Graham from his coaching position and banned him from school campus after becoming aware of the allegations.
“Law enforcement has not indicated that there should be any concern for Centennial families,” a district spokesperson told the outlet.