July 28, 2016
The last time Nelson Agholor was on the football field at the NovaCare Complex, the final practice of Eagles minicamp, he shortly left after for Cheerleaders Gentlemen's Club in South Philly.
And because he made that decision, the seven weeks between now and then have been extremely trying for the second-year receiver from USC. In fact, there were moments when he felt his place in the NFL was in jeopardy.
“To be honest with you, there was points where I thought an opportunity that was given to me to play for this organization, to have the life I have, could have been taken from me,” Agholor said. “So it allows you to kind of be more grateful and have a good perspective on life.”
Agholor was accused of sexual assault by a dancer at the club, but through his attorney Fortunato Perri Jr., he maintained that he didn’t commit a crime. After a thorough investigation, the Philadelphia district attorney's office didn’t file charges against Agholor because they “lacked sufficient evidence.”
And while Agholor didn’t comment on any specifics of the incident or investigation, his message was consistent with the first words that came out of his mouth: “I put myself in a poor situation.”
“I put myself in that position going there, and to be honest with you, as I look at it, at the end of the day it’s either neutral or negative consequences being in a place like that [the club],” Agholor said. “So I made the wrong decision being there.”
Following the accusation, Agholor said he went back to Tampa and spent time with his family. The 23-year-old mentioned that he spent time getting ready for training camp and taking care of his younger sister, among other things.
“I could have easily let being associated with something like that defeat me,” Agholor said. “Or I could say, ‘OK, this is what I’m facing, but I still have an obligation to this football team and my family.’
“So I had to continue to train, I continued to be there for my little sister and the rest of my family, and do the right thing.”
Despite the fact that no charges were brought against him, Agholor provided the Eagles with a distraction and hurt his own reputation. After all, there wasn’t a huge scrum of reporters around him after the first day of training camp because of an amazing catch he had made.
To his credit, Agholor sounds aware of the perception problem and is ready to tackle it.
“What I did gives everybody enough to say, ‘Hey man, you did something wrong,’” Agholor said. “At the end of the day, they have every right to do that. But as a man, I got to do stuff from here on out to show who I am as a person and the type of man I’ll be.”
After an extremely disappointing rookie season, now the former first-round pick can turn his attention to the football field. When asked if he thinks the situation can make him a stronger person, Agholor’s answer was clear: 100 percent.
“You never wish for negative things to happen to you, but they say, ‘What don’t kill you make you stronger,’” Agholor said. “And I swear I feel way stronger.”
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
