Brian Banks, surrounded by TV cameras and reporters, looked around the indoor facility at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center and smiled.
“This is by far the second-best day of my life,” Banks said after completing a workout with the Seahawks that he hopes will be the first step toward an improbable NFL career.
It was just Banks’ second-best day, of course, because the best day occurred two weeks ago when the 26-year-old was exonerated of the rape conviction that ended his football dreams, as well as life as he knew it, 10 years earlier. As a junior linebacker at Long Beach Poly High School, Banks was one of the top prospects in the country, and Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans were one of several schools recruiting him.
Life took a horrible turn for Banks, however, when he was accused of rape by a school mate. Banks maintained his innocence, but his attorney convinced him to take a plea deal that would allow him to avoid a long sentence if he lost at trial. Banks spent five years in prison, then five more on parole until he was contacted out of the blue on Facebook by his accuser. After she admitted that the story had been fabricated, Banks, with the help of the California Innocence Project, was able to get his conviction thrown out last month.
Since then life has been a whirlwind for Banks. He has done countless interviews telling his story, including one with Jay Leno last night, and has also decided to chase the football dream that was put on hold a decade ago. Several teams have contacted Banks, and fittingly, his first workout was with Carroll and the Seahawks.
Banks knows he will have an uphill battle to make an NFL roster. Players who miss a year or two of football have a hard time getting back to game speed, never mind someone who hasn’t played in a decade save for one season at Long Beach City College in 2007 after he was released from prison. But no matter how his incredible story plays out, Banks has already won his biggest battle.
“The biggest thing for me was securing my freedom,” Banks said, wearing a sweatshirt that read XNOR8 on the front. “I did that. Everything else is a blessing.”
One part of his new-found freedom that Banks particularly enjoyed was getting on a plane last night to fly to Seattle. It had been 15 years since Banks last flew anywhere, and after spending five years in prison and five more wearing an ankle monitor, simply being able to get on a plane and go where he wanted was huge. He said he even enjoyed the tedious act of having to take his shoes off to go through security.
Banks was invited by the Seahawks to come back for a tryout at next week’s minicamp, though he said he’ll talk to his agent before deciding his next move (he has been invited to work out with other teams).
Carroll said they came into today’s workout knowing they had to have realistic expectations for Banks, but they saw enough to want an extended look.
“This is a great illustration for us of why people deserve a second chance,” Carroll said.
Asked if Banks actually has a shot of ending up on Seattle’s 90-man roster, Carroll answered, “It’s possible. Yeah, it’s very possible.”
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