Brian Banks

Brian Keith Banks (born July 24, 1985) is a former American football player. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) on April 3, 2013. Banks signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League (UFL) in 2012. Banks was a standout high school football star at Polytechnic High School (Poly) in Long Beach, California. In 2002, his Junior year, Banks verbally committed to USC. After being falsely accused of rape by classmate Wanetta Gibson, he spent close to six years imprisoned and five years on parole. In 2012, his conviction was overturned when his accuser confessed that she had fabricated the entire story. Following his exoneration, Banks sought to resume his football career, playing for the now-defunct United Football League (UFL), attending mini-camps for several NFL teams, and later signing with the Atlanta Falcons. High school career A native of Long Beach, California, Banks attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where he was teammates with DeSean Jackson, Darnell Bing, Winston Justice, and Marcedes Lewis. He was named one of Rivals.com's "Juniors to Watch" of the class of 2003. He was expelled from school due to a rape accusation that was later proven to be false. Professional career In the summer of 2012, Banks received tryouts with several NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers. He attended minicamp with the Seattle Seahawks, whose head coach, Pete Carroll, had offered Banks a scholarship in 2002 when he was head coach at USC.