Bart Scott

Bartholomew Edward Scott (born August 18, 1980) is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Southern Illinois.

Scott was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006.

Early years
Scott attended Southeastern High School in Detroit where he played running back and linebacker on the football team. Scott's assistant coach, Reinard Davis, recalled that "[Scott] went 110 percent on every snap and never came off the field. He was unbelievable." During his senior year, Scott recorded 76 tackles and led the team in rushing with 635 yards. More than one hundred schools sent out recruiting letters; however, low SAT scores made colleges shy away. Scott later improved his test scores to ensure eligibility.

During July workouts for a Michigan high school all-star game, Scott was impressive on the field, thus catching the interest of coach Bryan Masi. Masi contacted Dan Enos, a friend and an assistant coach at Southern Illinois. As a result of the conversation, SIU offered Scott a scholarship.

Scott continues to return to Southeastern High School nearly every year to speak with students, challenging them to aspire for more in life. Additionally, Scott provided the school with new uniforms and equipment in 2005 while upgrading the weight room in 2007. Scott also paid to have a new set of bleachers installed at the school after vandals stole the school's former bleachers. In honor of Scott's accomplishments on the field and off of it, Southeastern High School retired his jersey in 2008.

College career
During his tenure at SIU, Scott played as a linebacker and safety. During his junior year, Scott was suspended from the team for the final six games of the season following an altercation with defensive coordinator Michael Vite who chastised Scott for eating during a locker room meeting. Following Scott's junior year, the team's entire staff was fired and as a result, Jerry Kill was brought in to coach the team. Kill had been warned by a former staff members about Scott's behavior. However, Kill was instead impressed by Scott, calling him "a captain and leader." During his senior year, Scott led the team with 127 tackles and 5.5 sacks; earning first-team All-Gateway conference honors.

Kill touted Scott's ability to several NFL teams but only the Baltimore Ravens sent out a scout to assess Scott. The scout was highly impressed by Scott and three days following the 2002 NFL Draft, Scott was signed to a contract.

Scott later returned to Southern Illinois in 2005 to finish his academics, graduating with a degree in economics. Scott later became a first-ballot member of the SIU's Hall of Fame.

Baltimore Ravens
During Scott's first three years with Baltimore he was a special teams standout. However, he saw little time in the defensive rotation. In his rookie season he played in all 16 regular season games and posted five tackles and one interception on defense while tying the team high special teams tackles at 17. He made his NFL debut at the Carolina Panthers on September 8. The following season he again played in all 16 games and one post-season game recording nine tackles and one fumble recovery on defense. His 19 special teams tackles, a career high, ranked second on the team. In 2004 he played in 13 games making 17 special teams tackles, adding five tackles on defense playing as a safety and linebacker. Scott saw significant playing time during the 2005 season in which Ray Lewis injured his hamstring, playing in all 16 games and making 10 starts. He finished the season with 119 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four passes defended. Scott signed a three year, $13.5 million contract extension with the Ravens turning down the Cleveland Browns offer in the process. In 2006, Scott had a career year ending the season with a career-high 135 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two interceptions and nine passes defended. He played in the Pro Bowl in Hawaii as an alternate after being elected to replace his teammate Ray Lewis. Scott was named to the Associated Press' second All-Pro team.

Scott started all 16 games for the second straight season and recorded 131 tackles, one sack and three passes defended. On December 3, 2007, Scott was penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter of the Monday Night Football game against the New England Patriots. The second call came after Scott picked up the official's flag from the first call and threw it. Following the game, teammate Samari Rolle made accusations of disrespectful language by the official involved. In his final year with Baltimore, Scott again started all 16 games contributing with 104 tackles, 1.5 sacks and five passes defended.

New York Jets
In 2009, Scott became a free agent. Both the Ravens and New York Jets vied for Scott's services. After the Jets amended their contract offer by adding an additional year to the deal, Scott signed the six year, $48 million contract with New York on February 27, 2009. This would reunite him with head coach Rex Ryan, his former defensive coach in Baltimore, whom Scott has stated he would follow anywhere.

Scott started every game in his first season with New York, finishing the year with 92 tackles and a sack.

After the Jets defeated the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Playoff game on January 16, 2011, ESPN's Sal Paolantonio approached Scott for an interview. Scott interrupted Paolantonio with a professional wrestling-style rant supporting his team and antagonizing "non-believers." A clip of the interview went viral after being posted on YouTube. . The Jets lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship the following week. On March 3, 2011, Scott made an appearance for professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on their TNA Impact! television show, appearing alongside Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at a wedding ceremony between Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett and in the end tapping out to Kurt Angle's ankle lock.

On January 1, 2012, Bart Scott was fined $10,000 for showing an obscene gesture in front of a cameraman while in the locker room.

The Jets released Scott on February 19, 2013.

Personal
Scott grew up relatively poor in the violence-filled and drug infested neighborhood of Hurlbut Street on the east side of Detroit. In spite of this, Scott received guidance from multiple sources including his parents, Dorita Adams and Bart Capers, his grandmother, Gwendolyn Pippen Osborne, his sisters, Cutrice and Dawnyell and his high school coach, Drake Wilkins.

Scott's experiences have kept him down to Earth and involved with the community; evidenced by the fact that he is involved in multiple charities,  including A Son Never Forgets, a foundation dedicated to helping those suffering with paralysis which was established by Scott himself in October 2006. Scott has also dedicated money to his former neighborhood, buying a plot of land to build a playground near his grandmother's home in addition to providing equipment and speaking with students at his former alma mater, Southeastern.

Scott is well known for his fierce, playmaking abilities as well as his trash talk off the football field.

Scott is married to his wife, Darnesha. They have two children, a son, Bartholomew, and a daughter, Gisele.