Irvin Lee Pankey (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a offensive lineman for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football as a tight end and offensive tackle for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was a team captain in 1979. He attended Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Personal life

During his playing career at Penn State, he reached out to Betsy Sailor, a student who had been raped by then-Penn State player Todd Hodne in 1978, and had experienced harassment after having testified against Hodne at his trial. In a 2022 ESPN story on Hodne, who would sexually assault nearly a dozen other women before being convicted of murder, Sailor recalled Pankey telling her, "I just wanted to let you know that I was in the courtroom today and I listened to what you had to say. And I believe every word that you said. And, you will never have to be afraid, or be alone again. I will be by your side." Pankey and Sailor would lose contact after they graduated from Penn State, but would be reunited while the ESPN story was being researched. ^[1]

Pankey has twin sons who played college football for Oregon State; Keith Pankey played linebacker, and his brother, Kevin, was a tight end. ^[2] He has a daughter, Kiley, who attended Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, California. Pankey served as a professor and offensive line coach at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California. ^[2] Pankey also helps out at football camps such as Linemen Inc.

References

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