Jan. 17, 1963 - Star Detroit Lions tackle Alex Karras (pictured), glum and silent, flew back to Detroit tonight after being questioned by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle in New York. Karras, 250-pound All-Pro ace, underwent two long grilling sessions with Rozelle. Karras was obviously under orders not to talk about the sessions, but he emerged pale and apparently disturbed. In an interview on NBC-TV taped Sunday, Karras was asked if he ever had bet on football games. He replied, “I have bet on ball games.” To the question whether he ever bet on a game in which he was playing, Karras replied, “Yes, I have.” On the way from the airport to the meeting with Rozelle, Karras told the Associated Press: “I told this guy, this TV announcer, I had bet on games, but he never asked what I bet. All I ever bet was cigarettes or cigars and only with friends. I never bet with a bookie or talked with one. I don’t even know any bookies.” Anxiety showed in Karras’s face during the entire cab ride from the airport. “I must be the most naive guy in the world,” he said bitterly. “How could I get myself in a mess like this when deep down in my heart I know I didn’t do anything wrong? I’ve never done a dishonest thing in my life. I’ve put in five years playing as hard as I could with the Lions, and now this happens.”
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