Ray Lewis (born May 15, 1975 in Bartow, Florida) is an American football linebacker for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. He is widely considered one of the most dominant linebackers in NFL history, known for his tremendous strength, quickness and hard hitting capability. In January 2001, Lewis led Baltimore to a Super Bowl XXXV victory and was named "Most Valuable Player" for that game.

Lewis played college football at the University of Miami. In the 1996 NFL Draft, he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round with the 26th overall pick. Lewis has consistently gained over 100 solo tackles each season with the Ravens.


Arrest for murder
Lewis' public image was tarnished, however, following a Super Bowl party on January 31, 2000, when he was arrested, along with his friends Reginald Oakley, Joseph Sweeting, Kwame King, and Carlos Stafford, for the murders of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. Baker and Lollar were stabbed to death outside a nightclub during a fight in the Buckhead district of Atlanta. To avoid prosecution of the murder charge, Lewis copped a plea bargain wherein he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice, and agreed to testify against Oakley and Sweeting. Oakley and Sweeting managed to procure very high priced legal representation, that some think Lewis paid for, and were found not guilty in June, 2000. No other suspects have ever been arrested for this crime, and to this day, the Atlanta P.D. and D.A.'s office believe that Lewis and his associates were guilty, but were unable to make the charges stick. On April 29, 2004, Lewis reached a settlement with 4-year-old India Lollar, who was born shortly after Lollar's death. The Baltimore Sun reported that Lewis has agreed to pay at least $1 million. The settlement pre-empties a civil trial scheduled to begin on June 14. A suit filed by Baker's family was settled previously for undisclosed terms.


NFL career
Since the murder allegations, Lewis' image has slowly recovered, and today he is considered one of the most dominant linebackers in the National Football League and one of the best to ever play the game. He also has gained several national corporate endorsements, most of which draw upon his tough image. In 2004, Lewis was placed on the cover of the Madden NFL 2005 video game distributed by EA Sports.

Lewis also won the Associated Press's 2000 and 2003 Defensive Player of the Year Awards.