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Dana William Stubblefield (born November 14, 1970 in Cleves, Ohio) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. After graduating from Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio, Stubblefield attended the University of Kansas.

Professional career

Stubblefield was drafted in the first round (26th overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. In his rookie year, Stubblefield led the 49ers with 10.5 sacks (making himself The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year), and recorded 8.5 the following year. He appeared in the Pro Bowl in 1994 and 1995. The 1996 season was, by all counts, a failure for Stubblefield, but his 1997 season found him recording 15 sacks. He was rewarded for his efforts by being named 1997's NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, a feat many believed belonged to Ted Washington (got traded before the start of 1994 NFL Season) and Bryant Young the DT who had been double teamed all season long.

After the 1997 season, he was granted unconditional free agency and signed with the Washington Redskins where his numbers greatly diminished despite the fact that he played opposite Dan Wilkinson, who often drew double-teams. He returned to San Francisco in 2001 and 2002, and played with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent in 2003. In 2004 he was signed by the New England Patriots, but released before the start of the season.

BALCO incident

Stubblefield's name and those of several of his Oakland Raiders team members were found on the list of clients of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative that had given performance-enhancing drugs to Marion Jones and others. Although initially he lied to federal investigators about using both EPO and THG, after he was charged on January 18, 2008, Stubblefield cooperated with both federal and NFL investigators and turned over the names of players, agents and trainers he suspected of drug use.^[1]

Because of his cooperation with the investigation, he received a fairly light sentence after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators on February 6, 2009. He will serve two years probation. ^[2]

Acting

As an actor, he appeared in the movie Reindeer Games with Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron. During filming, he knocked out Ben Affleck by accident.

Personal

He was formerly the varsity defensive line coach at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California.^[3]

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References