It’s hard not to laugh sometimes in the subtle misfortune of others. The Germans even have a word for it called “schadenfreude”.

The story of former USC place-kicker Cole Ford is one of those stories. Since leaving the NFL he’s had a rather interesting timeline:

January 2004: Filed a $5-million US suit against the Monte Carlo hotel-casino, claiming the casino industry took advantage of athletes. “Sports gaming is placing challenges on athletes beyond a college and professional experience,” Ford wrote. “I believe gaming is stealing from (an athlete’s) earning potential. The athlete is creating the results and the sports books are claiming them.”

September 21, 2004: Shouted obscenities out of his slow-moving van, then sprayed Siegfried & Roy’s Las Vegas estate with a 12-gauge shotgun.

November 10, 2004: Ford told the psychiatrist that while watching Siegfried & Roy he realized “what was wrong with the world was linked to the illusionists’ treatment, dominance and unhealthy intimacy” with their animals.

The only thing not funny is that Cole Ford is facing 27 years in prison if convicted. We just hope he overcomes his fear of the cirucs duo that he still maintains are “some of the most dangerous people in our country.”

From NFL to a mental facility, the rise and fall of a troubled kicker [Sportsnet]