Kareem Maktrel Larrimore (born April 21, 1976 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was drafted by the

in the fourth round (109th overall) of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He was also a member of the

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

Austin Wranglers The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...

, and

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL), and the

Amarillo Dusters The Amarillo Venom were a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football Leagu ...

(then of the

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southern Association of Colleges ...

Early years

Larrimore attended

Locke High School Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy (formerly Locke High School) is a Title 1 co-educational charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District/Green Dot Public ...

, where he played only one year of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a

and returner. Because of poor grades, he spent one year after graduating earning his

GED The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

, before walking-on at Cerritos Junior College where he was a two-year starter at cornerback and was named junior college All-American as a sophomore. After the gang-related death of his brother, he transferred to

, where he received Division II All-American and All-Lone Star Conference honors. As a junior in 1998, he had 34 tackles (4 for loss), two interceptions (which he returned for 90 yards and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

) and 7 passes defensed, along with 20 kickoff returns for 532 yards (26.6 avg.) and one

of 100 yards (tied a school record). As a senior in 1999, he missed the season opener, but played the rest of the year, registering 32 tackles, 5 interceptions (which he returned for 109 total yards and a 74-yard

) and 10 passes defensed, along with 15 kickoff returns for 318 yards. After the season, he played in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game, where he returned a kickoff 99 yards for a

, which was a first in the 62-year history of the game. He also played in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Larrimore was selected by the

in the fourth round (109th overall) of the

, after dropping because of character concerns and failing a marijuana test in the

scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Fo ...

. He impressed the team with his athletic ability from the beginning and moved ahead of fellow rookie draft picks

Dwayne Goodrich Dwayne Lewis Goodrich (born May 29, 1978) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tennessee. Early years Goodrich attended Harold L. Richard ...

and

Mario Edwards Mario Lashun Edwards Sr. (born December 1, 1975) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miami Dolphins. He was drafted in the sixth round (180th overall) of the ...

. Two weeks into

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, he was named the starter at left cornerback in place of a retired

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

. He was just the second rookie in franchise history (

Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He is the general manager of the Seattle Kraken that inaugurated its first season in 2021. Drafted fourth overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, F ...

was the first) to start at

in the season opener, but he struggled and was replaced with the more experienced

Phillippi Sparks Phillippi Dwain Sparks (born April 15, 1969) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. Sparks graduated from Maryvale High School in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1987. He attended and played football for Glendale Communi ...

after the fourth game of the season. The move didn't sit well with Larrimore and violations of team rules started to affect his standing with the team. He appeared in 15 games (4 starts), making 20 defensive tackles, one quarterback pressure, 2 forced fumbles and 7

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he was suspended for the final preseason game, the season opener and fined for missing curfew when the Cowboys traveled to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

to play the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the

American Bowl The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005. The league started the ''American Bowl'' series in 1986 primarily to promote American ...

. On October 23, he was released, with reports later surfacing that he had been fined at least 11 other times for various reasons. He appeared in 4 games (2 starts), posting 8 tackles and 2 passes defensed. Larrimore played for the Cowboys for two seasons, appearing in 19 regular season games (15 in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, four in

) and starting in 6 games.

Dallas Desperados (AFL)

On May 21,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, he signed with the

of the

, who were owned by

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones (born October 13, 1942) is an American businessman who has been the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) since February 1989. Early life Jones was born in Los Ange ...

, who also was the owner of the

. As a rookie, he played in nine games, earning the position as the team’s top kick returner and defensive specialist. He received

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

All-Rookie honors after finishing with 24.5 tackles, 5 passes defensed and one interception. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, knee and back injuries limited him to seven games, while spending time on the Reserve/Injured list three times. He recorded 26.5 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 27 kickoff returns for 476 yards (17.6 avg.).

Chicago Rush (AFL)

Larrimore was selected by the

in the league's expansion draft, but was traded to the

in exchange for

Cedric Walker Cedric Walker (born February 10, 1971) is a former American football defensive back and coach who is currently the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Wyoming Mustangs of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF). Walker played football at Ste ...

on October 15,

. He was waived on April 7,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, after registering 11 tackles, one interception, 21 kickoff returns for 485 yards and 2

Amarillo Dusters (IFL)

After three seasons in the

, Larrimore signed with the

then of the

Intense Football League The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska. History ...

, on May 28, 2004.

Inglewood Blackhawks (LCFL)

In 2009, he signed with the Inglewood Blackhawks of the LCFL West Semi pro league. He helped the team win the 2010 LCFL Championship.

Personal life

In 2017, Larrimore was hired as the cornerback assistant coach for one season at

Cerritos College Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local r ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larrimore, Kareem Living people 1976 births Players of American football from Los Angeles American football defensive backs Cerritos Falcons football players West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players Dallas Cowboys players Dallas Desperados players Chicago Rush players Amarillo Dusters players