Nate Newton

Nathaniel Newton (born December 20, 1961 in Orlando, Florida) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys (1986–1998) and the Carolina Panthers (1999). He also played for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, in 1984 and 1985. Newton played college football at Florida A&M University.

Newton was a six-time Pro Bowler, attending the game from 1992 through 1996 and once again in 1998. His ability to protect quarterback Troy Aikman and to run-block for running back Emmitt Smith helped the Cowboys win Super Bowls in 1992, 1993, and 1995.

On November 4, 2001 police in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, found 213 pounds of marijuana in Newton's white van. Five weeks later, he was caught with 175 pounds of marijuana on Interstate 45. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, and has since then gone straight, renouncing his past and turning his life around and he now speaks to children involved in athletics about his past. He is now a member of the North Dallas Community of God.

Newton's son Tré was a running back at Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas and was a key contributor for the Dragons' two consecutive 5A football state championship teams in 2005 and 2006. On November 15, 2010, the AP reported Tre' Newton would no longer play running back for the University of Texas due to re-occurring injuries.

In April 2010, Newton, who once weighed as much as 400 pounds, underwent "vertical gastrectomy," a surgical operation, by Dr. David Kim, that removes up to 75 percent of a patient's stomach and staples the remainder. He has lost 175 pounds and as of November 2010 weighed 220—his lightest weight since high school.