Wyatt Sexton (born July 20, 1984) is a former

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(NCAA)

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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. Sexton is well known for his performances on the field and for his suffering from the effects of

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...

. Sexton's career ended after he was doused with pepper spray by police officers who found him lying in the street and proclaiming himself as God in June 2005.Disoriented, suspended FSU QB Sexton hospitalized
cbs.sportsline.com, accessed January 22, 2007. Although Sexton was already suspended from the team at the time due to erratic behavior stemming from the disease, including failing to take a drug test,Kallestad, Brent

''

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'', June 16, 2005, accessed January 22, 2007.Seminole QB Sexton ends comeback bid
espn.com, accessed January 22, 2007. and unusual behavior in practice. The aforementioned incident prompted his indefinite suspension and a prolonged battery of medical tests which ultimately revealed the disease.

Biography

Early life

As a child Sexton grew up in a football household as his father Billy was a longtime assistant football coach at Florida State. Sexton attended Leon High School in the Tallahassee area where he starred at quarterback. Sexton threw for over 3,122 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior to lead the state in passing,
seminoles.cstv.com, accessed January 22, 2007. and then threw for 2,193 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior. Sexton graduated from Leon with a 4.0

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

and scored a 1300 on his

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FSU and football

Sexton arrived on campus as a prized recruit during the summer of 2002. He was ranked as one of the top quarterback prospects in Florida coming out of high school. Being the son of an assistant coach, his transition to Florida State was expected to be smooth. After redshirting his freshman year in 2002, he played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2003. As a redshirt sophomore in 2004 Sexton took over the offense for long stretches for the ineffective

Chris Rix Christopher Charles Rix (born May 1, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. Rix is also widely known as a coach and sportscaster. Early life Chris Rix was born and raised in upstate New York. He is of Filipino, German, and Irish des ...

and started seven games with a record of 5-2 as a starter, throwing for 1,661 yards and eight touchdowns in the process.Florida State QB diagnosed with Lyme disease
msnbc.com, accessed January 22, 2007. Sexton headed into his junior season as the projected starting quarterback, and was named "most dependable quarterback" following the spring practices in 2005. Through his first two years at the school Sexton was a standout student who received awards for his academic performance.
FSU.com, accessed January 22, 2007.

Battle with Lyme disease

This would all change in the middle of 2005 however. In June 2005 Wyatt attended Bonnaroo. Shortly after he returned home police responded to a call about a man doing pushups in the street and jumping on cars in a residential neighborhood near

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. When they reached the scene, Tallahassee police officer Zachary Lyne stated that Sexton was sitting in the middle of the street wearing only a pair of wet shorts and when repeatedly asked to state his name he eventually responded only that he was God. Lyne then stated that Sexton became belligerent and had to be pepper sprayed and subdued. Sexton was not charged with a crime as he passed a sobriety test,Landman, Brian
FSU's Sexton held under Baker Act
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', June 15, 2005, accessed January 22, 2007. and police stated that he had not committed a criminal act. The police then, after consulting with Sexton's parents, released him to a hospital for medical observation. Initially there were allegations of drug abuse which Sexton's family quickly repudiated. Sexton was later diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tick-borne disease that can cause joint swelling and brain inflammation if left untreated. The disease was deemed to be in its later stages by a Lyme disease specialist when it was diagnosed,Wyatt Sexton will miss 2005 season
cstv.com, accessed January 22, 2007. who then recommended a treatment program of intensive antibiotic therapy for several months. In January 2006 Sexton announced he was quitting the football team in order to concentrate on his health and academics at Florida State.

References

External links

Wyatt Sexton's ESPN player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Wyatt 1984 births Living people Florida State Seminoles football players American football quarterbacks Leon High School alumni