Raiders highly criticized bust allegedly steals $74,000 from school

Former Raiders No. 1 pick and quarterback JaMarcus Russell was fired from his job as a volunteer assistant coach at Williamson High School last year and is also facing a lawsuit.

According to Simone Eli of WKRG , Russell, who attended Williamson High School before starring at LSU, was let go last Fall in the middle of the season, although the exact reason why has not been made public.

But it may have something to do with Russell allegedly keeping a $74,000 check for himself that was written as a donation for the school by a man named Chris Knowles on behalf of his company.

Here's more details about the situation with the check and the lawsuit Russell is facing, per the report:

He tells WKRG Sports Director Simone Eli that the money was a donation to the Williamson football program on behalf his business Selwonk Enterprises, a local building company.

Sources close to the Williamson program, with knowledge of the situation, say the Lions never saw any of the money.

Knowles, a lifelong LSU fan, says Russell approached him in the summer of 2022 about making a donation to help Williamson football purchase weight-room equipment. After writing the $74,000 check out to Russell, Knowles said he later stopped payment on the check when Russell wouldn’t provide a receipt of the donation and quit returning his phone calls.

Navigator Credit Union is suing Russell for a portion of the check, nearly $55,000, paid to him by mistake on the same day of the deposit. The lawsuit, filed in March 2023, says the money was ‘lent’ to Russell by the credit union at his request.

Russell has since filed a counterclaim against Knowles for stopping payment on the check. The former Raiders quarterback admits to depositing the check but denies wrongdoing, according to court documents.

Not only was Russell fired from Williamson High School, he is also not allowed to be "around the football program or on school campus ," per a statement by Mobile County Public School officials.

Russell was taken by the Raiders in the 2007 draft but was a total disaster over his three seasons before being waived in 2010. Not only is Russell the biggest draft bust in Raiders history, he might be the biggest draft bust in the history of the entire league.