Ex-football player receives 20-year sentence on drug charge

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former college football player who went to trial for violating North Carolina’s sports agent law has received a 20-year prison sentence on a drug conviction in Georgia following a probation violation.

Superior Court Judge Terry N. Massey imposed the sentence this week on Christopher Jamel Hawkins.

The charge originated from an April 2009 traffic stop. Hawkins was charged in North Carolina with violating the state’s sports agent law by providing improper benefits to former Tar Heels football players in 2010.

A judge declared a mistrial in that case in March when the jury couldn’t reach a verdict.