13 Facts About Dexter Manley

Dexter Keith Manley was born on February 2,1959 and is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League, primarily with the Washington Redskins.

Dexter Manley played for the Phoenix Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as in the Canadian Football League for the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Dexter Manley was drafted in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins, where he played for nine seasons.

In 1989, Dexter Manley failed his third drug test, with an opportunity to apply for reinstatement after one year.

Dexter Manley then played for the Phoenix Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dexter Manley had a series of arrests related to his drug problem and was ultimately convicted and served two years in prison.

Dexter Manley played two seasons in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Dexter Manley was nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense" during his time with the Redskins.

Dexter Manley underwent brain surgery in June 2006 to treat a colloid cyst.

Dexter Manley first learned about the cyst in 1986 after he collapsed in a Georgetown, Washington, DC department store.

Dexter Manley's prognosis was for a relatively full recovery, although doctors have said that memory loss is a common side effect of the operation.

In May 2020, it was announced that Dexter Manley had tested positive for COVID-19.

In "The Shame of College Sports", a 2011 article in The Atlantic by Taylor Branch, Dexter Manley was famously quoted as saying that he had been functionally illiterate in college.