Trouble-prone football star Lawrence Phillips apparently hit rock bottom in Las Vegas.
Phillips, an NFL bust after helping Nebraska to consecutive national titles in the mid-1990s, walked into a downtown Las Vegas pawnshop not long ago and sold one of his Big Eight championship rings for $20.
"He said he was stuck in Las Vegas," said Steve Gibson, owner of Steve's Buy & Sell, 625 Las Vegas Blvd. South. "He said, `I need to get out of town.' "
Gibson, who turned around and sold the ring on eBay for $1,700, said he tried to talk Phillips out of selling it. "I thought about giving him $20, but he would have just walked down the street and sold it."
Phillips, the sixth player taken in the 1996 draft, by the St. Louis Rams, ran afoul of the law throughout his pro career.
Phillips told Gibson he tried to hawk the ring "at every pawnshop from Tropicana to downtown," but nobody was interested because it was not gold.
"His name was on the side of the ring, but I didn't believe it was him until I saw his driver's license," Gibson said.
He was one of the best college players I had ever seen, those Nebraska teams with him on it in like 94 and 95 were untouchable. Thats too bad he is down on his luck like that....Those pawn shops that passed it up must of been fucking idiots.....a Big 8 Championship ring from one of the best college players who also won the title that year and who's team is considered one of the greatest in history....I bet they feel like morons now, they probably didnt know who he was
Phillips, an NFL bust after helping Nebraska to consecutive national titles in the mid-1990s, walked into a downtown Las Vegas pawnshop not long ago and sold one of his Big Eight championship rings for $20.
"He said he was stuck in Las Vegas," said Steve Gibson, owner of Steve's Buy & Sell, 625 Las Vegas Blvd. South. "He said, `I need to get out of town.' "
Gibson, who turned around and sold the ring on eBay for $1,700, said he tried to talk Phillips out of selling it. "I thought about giving him $20, but he would have just walked down the street and sold it."
Phillips, the sixth player taken in the 1996 draft, by the St. Louis Rams, ran afoul of the law throughout his pro career.
Phillips told Gibson he tried to hawk the ring "at every pawnshop from Tropicana to downtown," but nobody was interested because it was not gold.
"His name was on the side of the ring, but I didn't believe it was him until I saw his driver's license," Gibson said.
He was one of the best college players I had ever seen, those Nebraska teams with him on it in like 94 and 95 were untouchable. Thats too bad he is down on his luck like that....Those pawn shops that passed it up must of been fucking idiots.....a Big 8 Championship ring from one of the best college players who also won the title that year and who's team is considered one of the greatest in history....I bet they feel like morons now, they probably didnt know who he was
