Read the truth about McPherson;
''Is it my opinion he's a gambler? It's not opinion. That's what we know,'' said assistant state attorney Georgia Cappleman, whose attempt to prosecute McPherson in 2003 ended in a deadlocked jury. ``He's not only a gambler, he's a crook. Let me put it to you this way: If he was in a room with you, you better watch your wallet.''
Or as one NFL general manager said: ``I think he might get blackballed.''
That might be a stretch, based on favorable comments from coaches such as Baltimore's Brian Billick. But at least four teams have taken McPherson off their draft board completely because of character questions.
It's also telling that Florida State, which has dealt with numerous troubled players, wasted no time in dismissing McPherson. Two other schools declined to let him play after he left FSU.
THE GAMBLING ISSUE
Gambling, even the allegations of it, is about the only thing that trumps talent in the NFL and other professional sports leagues. The NFL was stung by former quarterback Art Schlicter's gambling problems, shortly after he was a first-round draft pick in 1982. And Pete Rose's managerial career was destroyed and his legacy tarnished -- he was banned for life in 1989 and is ineligible to be elected into the Hall of Fame -- by his involvement with betting on baseball.
''I think it's pretty fair to say that gambling is at the top of any list you want to put together,'' Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay said without discussing McPherson specifically.
McPherson pleaded no contest to stealing and forging a check from an auto-parts store in Tallahassee and to misdemeanor online gambling.
According to testimony from at least eight witnesses, McPherson gambled with a bookie and ran up an $8,000 debt in about three months in early 2002. According to the testimony, McPherson, then a redshirt freshman, was gambling from $100 to $1,000 on college basketball games.
Furthermore, Cappleman said McPherson was betting on Florida State football games, although she said records show that he always bet on the Seminoles to win.
McPherson moved to online gambling when the bookie cut him off, according to witness statements. McPherson gambled under a friend's name, telling witnesses he knew he would get in trouble with the NCAA if he was found to have gambled.
McPherson was never charged with gambling with the bookie because the statute of limitations ran out, Cappleman said. Cappleman added that at least one person told her office that McPherson continued to gamble even after he was initially arrested.
According to fellow Florida State students who gave statements to investigators, McPherson used other people's credit cards to buy shoes, clothes and jewelry on at least three occasions. He pleaded no contest to stealing.
He also was accused by students of stealing from them and then denying it when confronted. No charges were ever pursued.
These days, McPherson sums up his experience at Florida State as ''a mistake'' -- even though he had an impressive 12 touchdowns and one interception in part-time duty as a sophomore for the Seminoles in the 2002 season.
He insists he has changed, and at least one NFL executive said the charges and accusations of stealing and lying don't mean much to him.
''What happened at Florida State was three years ago,'' he said. ``It happened. I'm not making any excuse about it, but it's done.''
The 22-year-old McPherson, who has admitted to gambling at dog tracks when he was growing up in Bradenton, flatly denies charges that he wagered on football.
''I didn't gamble. It's not going to change. It is what it is. . . . I didn't do it,'' McPherson said. ``I'm not going to let gambling . . . I'm not going to risk a couple of hundred dollars when I can support myself in a good way. Gambling has never been an issue at all.''
Sporting a multicolored ''Jesus'' wristband on his left arm, McPherson also said, ''I wanted to go back to trial,'' after his first one ended in a hung jury. He said he was convinced by his attorney to accept the no-contest plea.
That sounds brave, but McPherson would have been taking a big risk. The first trial ended with five of six jurors voting to convict him.
McPherson has undergone an independent psychological evaluation to determine if he is or could become addicted to gambling. According to a source familiar with the test, the doctor who evaluated McPherson said there are no problems with addiction.
