CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Panthers defensive end Jared Allen announced his retirement from football on Twitter in unique fashion — from atop a horse.
Allen, who often refers to himself as a cowboy after being raised on a ranch, thanked everyone in a short video before saying, "I was going to ride off into the sunset, but seeing there is no sunset I'm just going to ride off." He then turned the horse and galloped away into the dark night with snow on the ground.
A four-time All-Pro, Allen played 12 seasons in the NFL and finished with 136 career sacks. He led the league in sacks in 2007 and 2011.
His retirement will save the Panthers $8.25 million under the 2016 salary cap.
Judge rejects Darren Sharper plea deal
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge rejected a plea deal Thursday in the rape case against former NFL star Darren Sharper, saying the nine-year sentence doesn't reflect the seriousness of the alleged assaults against as many as 16 women.
"This court cannot accept this plea agreement," U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo told Sharper as he stood before her in orange prison coveralls and shackles. She gave Sharper and his lawyers until March 3 to decide whether to withdraw a guilty plea he entered last year.
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Sharper had pleaded guilty as part of a deal involving charges in four states. He also has pleaded guilty or no contest to similar charges in state courts in California, Arizona, Nevada and Louisiana. He was sentenced to eight years in Arizona but awaits formal sentencing in the other jurisdictions.
His attorneys declined comment as they left the courtroom.
Sharper's federal plea deal called for a 108-month prison sentence if he were to comply with a lengthy list of requirements, including cooperation with authorities in the case against two co-defendants in Louisiana.
Milazzo noted a pre-sentence report compiled by federal authorities and federal sentencing guidelines that called for a sentence between 15 to 20 years.
The federal indictment charged Sharper with distributing the drugs alprazolam, diazepam and zolpidem — more commonly known by the brand names Xanax, Valium and Ambien — with the intent to commit rape.
Two Louisiana state counts of aggravated rape against Sharper stemmed from accusations that he sexually assaulted two drug-impaired women at his apartment in September 2013.