Christian J. Peter (born October 5, 1972) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). Peter's younger brother,
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
, also played in the NFL.
Early years
Peter grew up the oldest of four children in the
Locust
Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...
section of
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16th ...
.
High school
Peter attended
Middletown High School South, where he played one year of football as a junior. The team went undefeated and won the state title in 1990.
College career
Peter received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Nebraska where he was a three-year starter. He became one of the leaders of Nebraska's feared "Blackshirt" defense. Peter was an all-
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
and honorable mention All-American in his senior year, and finished his college career with 124 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Arrests and convictions
While attending Nebraska, Peter had several run-ins with the law for various offenses such as threatening a parking attendant while his vehicle was being towed, trespassing, public urination, refusing to comply with police, minor in possession of alcohol, and failure to appear in court. He was convicted four times.
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In 1993 Peter was accused of groping Natalie Kuijvenhoven (a former
Miss Nebraska
The Miss Nebraska competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nebraska in the Miss America pageant.
Steffany Lien of Lincoln was crowned Miss Nebraska 2022 on June 11, 2022 at North Platte HS Performing Arts Cent ...
) in a crowded bar. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 18 months probation, and was suspended for a 1993 exhibition game. Following the 1993 charges from Kuijvenhoven, Kathy Redmond, who attended the University of Nebraska with Peter, came forward and claimed that Peter had sexually assaulted her during their freshman year in 1991. No criminal charges were filed in the matter, but Redmond did file a
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
suit against the University of Nebraska in 1995; the suit was settled out of court.
In 1994, only a month before the draft, Peter was convicted of disturbing the peace after a woman accused him of grabbing her throat in a
Kearney, Nebraska
Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States.
The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...
bar. He said he was under the influence during the altercation and admitted to responding in an inexcusable way after she allegedly called him a rapist.
Professional career
Peter was
drafted by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in the fifth round of the
1996 NFL Draft
The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...
. The pick set off a firestorm of criticism from the Boston area press, including Patriots fans and women's groups, as well as
Myra Kraft
Myra Hiatt Kraft (''née'' Myra Nathalie Hiatt; December 27, 1942 – July 20, 2011) was an American philanthropist and the wife of New England Patriots and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft.
Early life and education
Kraft was born in Wor ...
, wife of Patriots owner
Robert Kraft
Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, ...
.
">After learning more about Peter's history, the Patriots renounced his rights only a week after the draft. The team said that Peter's behavior was "incompatible with our organization's standards of acceptable conduct."
">According to ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', Myra Kraft personally demanded that the Patriots cut ties with Peter.
">It was the first time in NFL history that a drafted player had been waived by a team before the start of training camp. Partly due to the backlash, no other team expressed interest. Since then, the Patriots have adopted a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault.
After the 1996 season, the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
signed Peter as a free agent on condition that he go through counseling for substance abuse,
attention deficit disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise Development ...
, and anger management.
">He apologized for his behavior while at Nebraska and still speaks about the Giants today as having saved his life. After four years with the Giants, he went on to play with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
and the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, where he retired in 2004.
Post playing career
Today, Peter speaks openly of his sobriety, past struggles, and those who have helped him along the way. He travels to schools, businesses, communities, rehabs, and correctional facilities sharing his story in hopes that someone struggling will be helped. Peter currently serves on the board of the Tigger House Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to achieving a positive impact by reducing the death rate of heroin and opiate addiction.
Peter is currently residing in his home state of New Jersey with his wife and three children. In 2007, he started The Competitive Advantage Companies, a full service insurance brokerage firm based out of Red Bank, NJ.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Christian
1972 births
Living people
American football defensive tackles
Chicago Bears players
Indianapolis Colts players
Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
New York Giants players
Middletown High School South alumni
Milford Academy alumni
People from Middletown Township, New Jersey
Players of American football from New Jersey
Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey