Laveranues Coles

About Laveranues Coles

Laveranues Leon Coles (pronounced /la-VERN-ee-us/) (born December 29, 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American football wide receiver who was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of Florida State University.

While attending Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Florida, Coles played football, basketball, and ran track. In football, he rushed for nearly 5,000 yards in his career, was named to the Blue Chip Dream Team, and was a first team Class 4A All-State selection. In basketball, he was a member of a state championship team as a senior. In track, he recorded a time of 10.6 seconds in the 100 meter dash and 21.8 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Due to a scandal at Florida State which resulted in Coles's dismissal from the team, he often refers to his high school when introducing himself on Monday Night Football.

On September 29, 1999, during his senior season at Florida State, Coles and teammate Peter Warrick went to a Tallahassee, Florida Dillard's department store and, with the aid of a cashier with whom the pair were friendly, purchased $412.38 worth of clothing and charged only $21.40—a discount so large that it is legally considered shoplifting under Florida law. An off-duty officer saw what happened through a surveillance camera, according to police. Coles, Warrick, and the clerk, Rachel Myrtil, were arrested for grand theft. On October 22, Coles pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft and was dismissed from the team. At that year's rivalry game at Florida, Gators fans brought Dillard's bags to Florida Field to mock the team. Florida State won the game, and Seminole fans returned the mocking by requesting the bags as souveniors.