NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal judge did not adequately explain the terms and consequences of a plea agreement resulting in an 18-year federal prison sentence on drug and sexual assault charges for disgraced former NFL star Darren Sharper, lawyers for Sharper said in appeal briefs filed Friday.
Sharper pleaded guilty or no-contest to rape or related charges in four states where women accused him of drugging then assaulting them. A 2015 ''global'' plea agreement in state courts in Arizona, Nevada, California and Louisiana - and federal court in New Orleans - was expected to result in a nine-year sentence.