Cris Carter encouraged rookies to find criminal 'fall guy' in event of legal issues

Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland recently shared an alarming story about his 2014 transition to the NFL, in which rookie symposium attendees were encouraged by a former player to find criminal "fall guys" willing to take the blame in the event they faced legal issues.

Borland's recollection was particularly noteworthy given the current climate of the NFL, and the previously unnamed former player in question has been identified as Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter.

In a video that was previously available on NFL.com, Carter was seen speaking alongside fellow Hall of Famer Warren Sapp in telling rookies to seek that "fall guy" within their inner circles in case of any trouble.

The video has since been removed from the website but can now be seen on Deadspin.com.

"Y'all not gonna all do the right stuff," Carter said. "I gotta teach y'all how to get around all this stuff too. If you gonna have a crew, one of them fools got to know he going to jail."

"We'll get him out," Sapp added.

Carter later issued an apology in a two-part series on Twitter.

"Seeing that video has made me realize how wrong I was. I was brought there to educate young people and instead I gave them very bad advice. Every person should take responsibility for his own actions. I'm sorry and I truly regret what I said that day," Carter tweeted.

The NFL released a statement on the matter Sunday, expressing concern over Carter's comments.

"This was an unfortunate and inappropriate comment made by Cris Carter during the 2014 NFC rookie symposium," the statement said, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "The comment was not representative of the message of the symposium or any other league program. The league's player engagement staff immediately expressed concern about the comment to Cris. The comment was not repeated in the 2014 AFC session or this year's symposium."