A former NFL player and current high school football coach in Tennessee has been arrested on prostitution charges after allegedly attempting to pay for sex with someone he believed to be a 16-year-old girl.
Jay Graham, 50, who played as a running back in the NFL for several teams, reportedly responded to a fictitious adult escort website and agreed to pay $120 for sexual services, despite acknowledging that the person was underage.
On Wednesday, Graham arrived at a hotel in Nashville, handed cash to an undercover police officer, and was promptly taken into custody, as stated by the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department.
He faces charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor and aggravated statutory rape, with his bail set at $45,000, according to police reports.
Graham was an All-SEC running back for the University of Tennessee from 1993 to 1996, accumulating over 2,600 rushing yards during his college career.
His NFL career lasted from 1997 to 2002, during which he played for the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, and the Green Bay Packers, ending with 454 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
In the years that followed, Graham worked as a college assistant coach at various institutions, including a national title win with Florida State in 2013.
Reportedly, he served as the running backs coach at Tennessee in 2012 and again between 2020 and 2022 but resigned due to mental health concerns, as noted by local sources.
Afterward, Graham was a coordinator at East Tennessee State University before taking the coaching position at Centennial High School in Franklin in March.
Following the allegations made public on Wednesday, the Williamson County School District terminated his coaching role and prohibited him from accessing the school’s grounds, according to Tennessee news outlets. They suspended him initially, as there’s a distinct protocol in place for terminating teachers.
A spokesperson for the district mentioned that law enforcement has indicated no concerns for the school community.
Two other individuals, aged 46 and 20, were also arrested during the sting operation and face similar charges, according to police.
