Former Air Force Academy Football Player Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Use

Kevin Cole Fagan was the Air Force Academy’s leading rusher in 2018, but now he’s grabbing headlines for another reason. The talented back is set to spend two weeks in prison after pleading guilty to cocaine use.

According to Colorado Springs Gazette, Fagan pleaded guilty to the charges and managed to only receive 15 days in prison. The former Air Force running back was facing up to five years behind bars before his plea and he will also forfeit $500 a month for two months. Fagan took time to address the courtroom before his sentencing, apologizing for his actions.

“I know that I don’t have anyone but myself to blame for the predicament that I’m in,” he said. He also noted that he had stopped drinking since his legal woes started.

Fagan is still a senior with the Air Force Academy but his future at the school has yet to be formally decided according to school spokesperson Meade Warthen. In June, Fagan was dismissed from the school’s football program as the school investigated his situation.

“Cole Fagan has been removed from the team pending an ongoing investigation,” the team said in a statement.

Back in 2017, Fagan was at a party in Breckenridge, Colorado. A person he didn’t know offered him cocaine and he felt like he needed to try it because of the peer pressure he felt “in a moment of weakness and poor judgment,” Fagan said at his court-martial. He also admitted that he snorted a “small line” of cocaine.

Last year, Fagan rushed for 997 yards and seven touchdowns. A standout performance was the season finale against Colorado State where Fagan recorded 260 rushing yards which is a third-most by a player in Air Force history.

Fagan was reported removed from the team officially in June, however, the team had made their decision on his earlier that than.

“A post-spring depth chart released by the team did not include Fagan, though he was mentioned among returning starters,” Brent Briggeman of the Colorado Springs Gazette wrote according to Military.com.

“Air Force associate athletic director for communications Troy Garnhart said Fagan was removed from the team in April,” the report said. “Garnhart would not comment on the language of the statement, which would seem to imply that if Fagan were cleared by the investigation that he could return to the team. Garnhart said the statement stands on its own.”

Fagan is the son of former NFL player Kevin Scott Fagan who played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1987 until 1993.