Jets Safety Talks About Troubled Past

May 25, 2007 -- For Jets starting safety Erik Coleman, the road to the NFL was a bumpy one. Dealing with a mother who had a crack cocaine addiction and was sentenced for embezzling funds, both had the odds stacked against them.

At the age of 11, Coleman and his family were evicted from their home. Living with friends and looking after his siblings at such a young age would have deterred many, but not Coleman. He continued to play football and follow his dream of playing in the NFL.

In 1999, his mother, Cynthia Coleman, was sentenced to Geiger Correctional facility after pleading guilty to theft of government property and embezzling $97,000 from the Social Security Administration. Cynthia also had a crack-cocaine problem.

On the day she was sentenced, Coleman handed his mother his acceptance scholarship to Washington State University. On the back of it he wrote of how proud he was of his mother and the influence she had on him. Coleman went off to school. Mom went to prison.

After six months in Geiger and 4 years at Washington State, both realized their dreams. Mom came out clean; Coleman was drafted into the NFL by the New York Jets.

Today Cynthia Coleman is an honor student at Spokane Community College, where she will receive her associates degree in applied sciences in business marketing and management.

Erik Coleman is a starting safety with the New York Jets, and his next contract should be a windfall for him and his family.

The days of living in the darkness are over for the Coleman family, thanks to determination and hard work, and more important, to each other.