Christian Peter is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive tackle in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. Peter's younger brother, Jason

Jason Peter

Jason Michael Peter is a retired American football player. Peter was an All-American defensive tackle his senior year at the University of Nebraska and was taken in the first round by the Carolina Panthers in the 1998 NFL Draft. His career was shortened by a recurring and chronic neck stinger...

, also played in the NFL.

Peter attended Middletown High School South

Middletown High School South

Middletown High School South is a four-year comprehensive public high school located within Middletown Township, New Jersey, operating part of the Middletown Township Public School District...

 in his hometown of Middletown Township, New Jersey

Middletown Township, New Jersey

Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 66,522...

 before transferring to Milford Academy

Milford Academy

Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1906 in Milford, Connecticut as Yale Preparatory School. The school is located since 2004 in New Berlin, New York...

. He then played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to several sports teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference...

, where he was a three-year starter. He became one of the leaders of Nebraska's feared "Blackshirt" defense. Peter was an all-Big Eight Conference

Big Eight Conference

The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...

 and honorable mention All-American in his senior year, and finished his college career with 124 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Highschool

Peter played at Middletown Highschool South where he helped one of the best teams in school history go undefeated & win the state title in 1990.

Professional career

Peter was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 by the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft

1996 NFL Draft

The 1996 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 20–21, 1996...

. Only a month before the draft, he notched his eighth conviction in seven years, this time for grabbing a woman's butt in a Kearney, Nebraska

Kearney, Nebraska

Kearney is a city in and the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 at the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska-Kearney....

 bar. The pick set off a firestorm of criticism from the Boston area press, Patriots fans and women's groups. After learning more about Peter's violent history, the Patriots relinquished the rights to Christian only a week after the draft. The team said that Christian's behavior was "incompatible with our organization's standards of acceptable conduct." According to The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

, Myra Kraft

Myra Kraft

Myra Nathalie Kraft, née Hiatt was an American philanthropist. She was the daughter of the late Worcester philanthropist Jacob Hiatt and wife of New England Patriots and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft....

, the wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft

Robert K. Kraft is an American business magnate. He is the Chairman and was the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio...

, personally demanded that the team cut all ties with Peter.

As a result of the backlash, Christian was unable to catch on with another NFL team for the 1996 season

1996 NFL season

The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...

. The New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 signed him in 1997

1997 NFL season

The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...

 as a free agent, on condition that he go through counseling for alcohol abuse, attention deficit disorder and anger management. He went on to play six years with the Giants, Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 and Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

While with the Bears, Peter apologized for his misdeeds at Nebraska. He has since retired to his home state of New Jersey where, in the summer of 2007, he opened a sports bar, The 4th Quarter Sports Tavern, in Atlantic Highlands, which has since closed.