Sportsfanlive – An offensive tackle from a small Division II Christian school, Tony Washington went to Indianapolis virtually unknown. After top performances at the NFL Combine, the Abilene Christian standout has seen his draft stock climb as high as the second round. But he bears the burden of a troubled past – one that’s causing some NFL teams to think twice. Washington is a registered sex offender. Until now, he has not publicly addressed the specifics of his situation, but in a statement provided exclusively to SportsFanLive.com, he confirmed what is likely to haunt him for the rest of his life. “I made a mistake at the age of 16, and for that, I am deeply sorry,” Washington said. “I will not try and excuse or justify anything. I have worked extremely hard to do everything right so that I might have an opportunity to give back. I only hope that someone in the NFL will give me the same opportunity that Abilene Christian and Trinity Valley gave me.” In May 2003, Washington was convicted of having sex with a relative that multiple NFL and college sources say was his 15-year old biological sister. The act was consensual, according to his college coaches and two NFL scouts, who spoke to him about the incident. The sister does not wish to speak publicly on the case, according to Washington’s agent, who added that the siblings are now on good terms and talk often.

One thing we can glean from this is that Abilene-Christian has established itself as THE feeder school for NFL team’s looking to draft guys with what the draftniks like to call “character issues.”  Last year if you Googled the word “troubled draft recruit” the name most likely to appear in the drop down window was A-C’s Bernard Scott, a 1st Round talent whose baggage dragged him all the way to the 6th, where naturally he was taken by Cincy.  But all Scott did was get kicked out of high school, play for 3 different colleges, get arrested a bunch of times and punch a coach.  Compared to Tony Washington, Scott looks like St. Thomas Aquinas.

So it’ll be interesting to see what will happen to Washington.  We’ve seen teams take a guy completely off their board for petty offenses like possession of weed or fighting at a campus party or something.  That’s how Randy Moss fell to 21st  overall in 1998, and whatever else his drawbacks were, practically no one was accusing him of incest.   What are teams going to do about a guy who admits he banged his sister?  Especially if the guy put up impressive numbers at the Indianapolis Kennel Show?   I mean, sure you’re looking for good athletes, but how are you supposed to ignore that particular elephant in the room at the meet & greet with the press?  Coach: “…So we were really pleased Tony was still available when it was our turn to pick.  Any questions for Tony?” [A hundred hands go up] “Any that aren’t about the time he stuck his johnson into his sister?” [All hands go down.]   Eventually we’re going to need more details than “mistakes were made and I’ve moved on” because… well because he had SEX with his SISTER.  As a Pats fan, I’ll take any guy who can keep Brady upright in the pocket, open holes, work hard and stay healthy, regardless of his personal life.  But I have to admit, when it comes to off the field stuff, I think I kind of draw the line at sister sex.