LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawrence McCutcheon, a five-time Pro Bowl running back for the Los Angeles Rams who went on to a long career in the team's front office, died Friday. He was 76.
McCutcheon's family announced his death through the Rams. In a statement, the family said McCutcheon had “a long, courageous battle with Parkinson's disease.”
McCutcheon played his first eight NFL seasons for the Rams, who drafted him out of Colorado State in 1972. The native of Plainview, Texas, quickly emerged as one of the most dynamic running backs of the 1970s, earning a Pro Bowl selection and leading the Rams in rushing each year from 1973 to 1977 in coach Chuck Knox's productive offense.
McCutcheon, nicknamed “Clutch,” was a second-team AP All-Pro selection in 1974.
He appeared in 11 postseason games for the Rams. In the Super Bowl in January 1980, he even threw a touchdown pass to Ron Smith to put Los Angeles ahead before the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to win the championship.
McCutcheon was the Rams' career rushing leader when he left in 1980. After he finished his playing career with stops in Denver, Seattle and Buffalo over two seasons, McCutcheon became an executive for the Rams, eventually spending more than three decades in their front office.
McCutcheon rose to become the St. Louis Rams' director of player personnel from 2003 until his retirement in 2016, shortly before the team moved home to Los Angeles.
“Through a decade-long playing career and another 32 years in the Rams’ front office, Clutch earned the respect and admiration of teammates, opposing players, colleagues and fans alike,” McCutcheon's family said in its statement. “Clutch will be missed and remembered forever.”
McCutcheon's son, Daylon, was a cornerback for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2006. Lawrence McCutcheon's grandson, Dyson, is a defensive back at Middle Tennessee.
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FILE - Lawrence McCutcheon, St. Louis Rams director of player personnel, left, and Charlie Armey, vice president for players, take questions during a news conference in St. Louis on April 20, 2005. (AP Photo/James A. Finley, File)
An upstate New York woman who says she only recently learned she wasn’t born in the U.S. has been charged with voting illegally, one of the latest arrests touted by the Trump administration as it hunts for noncitizen voters ahead of the midterm elections.
Marva Cook was adopted as a toddler and had always assumed she was a U.S. citizen, she told Homeland Security investigators earlier this month, according to the criminal complaint.
But in searching for her biological mother, the 66-year-old Syracuse resident, who starred on Syracuse University’s women’s basketball team decades ago, said she discovered she had a German birth certificate.
Federal prosecutors say Cook has had a green card for several years now, but she still cast ballots in recent elections despite not having citizenship.
She faces a single federal charge of voting by an alien stemming from her vote in the 2022 midterms.
The misdemeanor offense carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine up to $100,000, if convicted. Cook can also face deportation, under federal law.
Reached by phone Friday, Cook declined to discuss the criminal case, her voting record or her past efforts at becoming a citizen.
But she said she was “not thrilled” by her court appearance Wednesday as she was placed in shackles despite having voluntarily turned herself in just hours earlier.
“It was a difficult time,” Cook said. “I’m about kindness and service and doing for others as I want to be treated.”
She also said she appreciated the outpouring of support of community members, a number of whom accompanied her to court Wednesday.
“The prayers and the support is a big part of how I will get through this,” Cook said. “I have a deep faith that God will get me through it.”
Cook’s lawyer, Paul Tuck, also declined to discuss details of the criminal case Friday other than to say there are no upcoming hearings or filing deadlines. There are no pending immigration proceedings, he added, but Cook has an immigration lawyer in the event that changes.
Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, whose upstate New York office is prosecuting the case, said Cook's arrest showed “voter fraud is rampant” in the state.
Other federal agencies amplified the statement on social media, even as the administration’s own investigations have demonstrated that such instances are incredibly rare and been shown not to change the outcome of elections.
“We cannot and will not allow the votes of American citizens to be canceled out by noncitizens illegally voting in our elections,” the Homeland Security wrote in a post on X that included Sarcone's statement.
In California, federal authorities on Monday charged more than two dozen legal permanent residents with illegally casting ballots or registering to vote. Weeks earlier, 10 people were charged in Minnesota with illegally voting over the last three elections.
Cook’s supporters, meanwhile, described her as a vital part of the local community where she had lived nearly all of her life and had starred in college basketball.
The Syracuse University athletics department confirmed Cook was the team’s leading scorer in the 1979-80 season, averaging 15 points per game. She also holds the school record for most steals in a single season.
Fred Daley, pastor at All Saints Church, said Cook is an active member of the parish who for years has been the church’s go-to Easter Bunny, decked out in full costume during the spring holiday season.
“If the government wanted to make a case, they chose the wrong person,” he said. “She’s a poster child of an amazing person. She’s highly respected throughout the community.”
Dale Avers, a parishioner who has known Cook for almost 20 years, described her as a “person of service” who “never sought limelight.” She said Cook supports low-income families and youth as the YMCA’s community school program director.
“I’m in total shock that they’re putting this much effort into this,” Avers said. “They understood the story. There was no intent. There’s no malice. There was no deception involved.”
FILE - The Department of Homeland Security logo is displayed during a news conference in Washington, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
