Michael A. Cox Jr. (born November 14, 1988) 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He was drafted by the Giants in the 7th round (253 overall) of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. 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 ...

as an undergraduate for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

, and as a graduate student for the

Massachusetts Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...

High school

A native of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Cox attended high school at

Avon Old Farms , motto_translation = Aspiring and Persevering , address = 500 Old Farms Road , city = Avon , state = Connecticut , zipcode = 06001 , country = United St ...

prep school in

Avon, Connecticut Avon ( ) is a town in the Farmington Valley region of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 18,932. History Avon was settled in 1645 and was originally a part of neighboring Farmington, ...

, graduating in 2008. In three seasons at Avon Old Farms, Cox rushed for 2,400 yards, including a junior season in which he rushed for 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns. Ranked by most publications as a four-star prospect, Cox signed a national letter of intent with the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Along with

Khaseem Greene Khaseem Greene (born February 4, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers Scarlet Knights football, Rutgers. Early years ...

, who later played for 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 ...

, Cox was part of Avon Old Farms' first-ever New England track championship team.

College career

After redshirting for the 2008 season, Cox saw limited action on the Wolverines roster from 2009 to 2011. Cox played in 15 games over three years, rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Cox' best single game for the Wolverines was during his redshirt freshman season, against

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

when he rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Cox graduated from Michigan in the spring of 2012. With one year of eligibility remaining, Cox transferred to the

UMass Minutemen The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the ''Minutemen'' nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as ...

. Since Cox had already obtained his undergraduate degree, he was not required to sit out a season under

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer guidelines. Cox served as the feature back for the Minutemen. He started all 12 games, and despite running behind an inexperienced offensive line, Cox rushed for 715 yards and five touchdowns, leading the team in both categories. Against Miami of Ohio, Cox recorded the best game of his career with 188 yards rushing on 30 carries and two touchdowns. Cox also registered 81 yards against his former team, Michigan.

Professional career

New York Giants

Cox was drafted by 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. ...

with the 253rd pick, in the seventh round of the

. Cox made his first professional start on ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' on October 21, 2013. He was waived on April 27, 2015.

Personal

In November 2013, a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' report revealed events that not only the Giants organization was unaware of about Cox, but that Cox himself had not fully become aware of until he was 13 years old. The report detailed how Cox's father, Michael A. Cox Sr., then a Boston police officer, had been the victim of a mistaken but vicious beating by fellow police officers in 1995. The incident was initially "swept under the rug", but a lawsuit ultimately led to BPD settling with Cox Sr. for $900,000 in damages and attorneys' fees. Cox Sr. became the force's 44th commissioner on August 15, 2022. Cox's mother, Kimberly, is an

anesthesiologist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

, and he is the eldest of her and Cox Sr.'s three children. Michael's younger brother Nicholas Cox is a former football player at the Division I-AA

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

and briefly tried out for the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted in 2014.

Medical malpractice lawsuit

In 2016, Cox sued Dr. Dean Lorich and the

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

Hospital for Special Surgery Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a hospital in New York City that specializes in orthopedic surgery and the treatment of rheumatologic conditions. Founded in 1863 by James Knight, HSS is the oldest orthopedic hospital in the United States ...

over unspecified damages due to a failed ankle surgery in 2014. Cox attributed this failed surgery to ending his NFL career. Dr. Lorich, who died by suicide in December 2017, was the hospital's chief of orthopedic trauma service at the time the surgery took place. On September 23, 2022, Cox was awarded $15.5 million for future pain and suffering, $12 million in lost earnings, and $1 million in past pain and suffering, for a total of $28.5 million. Jordan Merson, the attorney representing Cox's attorney, said the jury stated that Cox "received inadequate medical care and treatment and was significantly injured as a result".

References

External links

NFL Draft Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Michael 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Boston American football running backs UMass Minutemen football players New York Giants players Michigan Wolverines football players Avon Old Farms alumni