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Before Drug Sentencing Former Dallas Cowboy Sends Letter To CBS 11

Sam Hurd
DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 04: NFL player Sam Hurd of the Dallas Cowboys attends the GREY GOOSE lounge series at Super Bowl hosted by Erykah Badu at the GREY GOOSE Lounge on February 4, 2011 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for GREY GOOSE)

NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Former Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Sam Hurd will finally find out his fate in federal court Wednesday afternoon.  Hurd pleaded guilty to drug trafficking back in April and now faces life in prison.

Hurd has remained silent about the case until now.  He wrote to CBS 11 I-Team Reporter Mireya Villarreal, detailing his life in jail and why he believes the government is targeting him.

UPDATE: Hurd sentenced to 15 years in prison

In the letter, the former Cowboys' player admits he's no angel.  But he also says he's been set up by the government, his cousin, and another defendant.  He feels he's been made out to look like a drug lord, when in reality he's just a loving and trusting husband who made a bad mistake.

On the field, Sam Hurd was a hard worker with big potential.  He was a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver from 2006 to 2010.  But off the field, Hurd's extracurricular activities would eventually be his downfall.

"I had a lot of respect for him as a man," Jason Hatcher said.  "He never came on me as a bad person. I didn't know, like I said, I never know anything nothing like this was going on behind the scenes."

Former teammate, and current Cowboys player, Jason Hatcher told reporters today he had no idea Hurd was smoking marijuana, much less selling it.

"It was shocking to hear," Hatcher added.  "I don't know anything about that. As long as you keep your business, whatever you do off the field, I don't know what to say about that situation."

Hurd doesn't talk a lot about his drug usage in the letter he sent CBS I-Team Reporter Mireya Villarreal.  But he does say his case is "pure prejudice and those that [are persecuting him] are looking for a bread winning case".

He admits he had a "small involvement with [his] case", but prosecutors are making him out to be a "drug Lord, which doesn't make sense".

Since June 2012, Hurd has been in Texas federal prison waiting for his trial and now his sentencing.  In his letter he says a lot of his time has been spent in the hole away from the general population.

He ends by saying he'll "pray for the prosecutors, the judge, [his] lawyer, and all of Gods children because [they] are [all] being oppressed by the Devil".

Sam Hurd finished his career with the Chicago Bears, who cut him when these charges were originally filed.

Hurd faces ten years to life in prison without probation.  The government has suggested that he get life in prison.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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