Former NFL running back and Nashville-area high school football coach Herman “Jay” Graham III has been arrested after allegedly attempting to have sex with an underage girl.
Police reports viewed by Us Weekly indicate Graham, 50, was arrested and booked on prostitution charges and patronizing with a minor aged 15-18 just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 15.
Us has reached out to Metro Nashville Police, Centennial High School and Williamson County Schools for comment.
Graham was arrested on Thursday, October 16, alongside two other men after police posted ads on adult websites, WSMV reported. Graham allegedly responded to an ad and began to message with an undercover officer posing as a 16-year-old girl. The pair reportedly agreed on a price of $120 for sex and arranged to meet at an area hotel, where Graham was arrested once he gave the officer the agreed upon payment.
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Graham was hired by Williamson County as a substitute teacher and coach at Centennial High School in Franklin, Tennessee, in July 2025 and was promoted to full-time teacher in July 2025. He reportedly had no criminal history prior to his hiring.
Dr. Clarissa Haymon, the principal of Centennial High School, sent a letter to parents confirming Graham’s arrest. Haymon also noted Graham was fired from his coaching role and suspended without pay from his teaching position.
“I am writing to you tonight with disturbing news,” Haymon wrote. “This evening, we were notified by law enforcement that our head football coach Jay Graham was arrested earlier today during a sting operation in Nashville on two felony charges of patronizing prostitution and solicitation of a minor to commit statutory rape.”
Haymon continued, “Metro Police will be sending out a news release later this evening, and I expect to see this news on our local TV stations and other media outlets as well as on social media. Mr. Graham has been fired from the coaching staff at Centennial and suspended without pay from his teaching position. He will not be allowed on our campus.”
Haymon also noted the school would provide counselors to meet with students, and that she and the school’s staff would directly address any concerns members of the football team Graham coached might have regarding his arrest.
“Law enforcement has not indicated that there should be any concern for Centennial families; however, should you have any information to share, please contact law enforcement,” Haymon concluded.
Graham was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round as the No. 64 overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. In addition to the Ravens, he also played for the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers before he retired from the NFL in 2002 and joined the Canadian Football League.
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Graham started coaching 2005, going on to work for several Tennessee colleges and universities, including the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and the University of Tennessee in Martin, before moving on to the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida State Seminoles. He returned to Tennessee in 2019, when he joined the coaching staff of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). https://www.rainn.org/
