TRZ Ad
2025Divisional RoundNFL

Clinton Portis Reveals How a Lap Dance at a Strip Club Changed His Football Career Forever [VIDEO]

1

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis laughing
Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis (Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images)

Clinton Portis famously committed to the University of Miami football program in the most unlikely way.

The University of Miami is one of the most successful and infamous college football programs. Its historic dominance includes national championships in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001. The team is fresh off competing for a National Championship this past week. Although they lost, it signaled that the program is on the right track.

All-American running back Clinton Portis, who went on to play in the NFL, added a new chapter to Hurricanes lore when he committed to the university. However, he did not actually know he had committed it until he was told.

Clinton Portis Committed To Miami While Getting A Lap Dance

Clinton Portis #26 of the Washington Redskins ((Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images))

During an appearance on the Raw Room podcast, the former running back shared how he accidentally committed to Miami. It came during an outing to a strip club arranged by some of his future teammates.

“We are in the strip club, you know, the dancer’s comin’. I got a dancer on me. Motherf**ker look at me and say, ‘Man, you comin’?’” Clinton Portis says.

“Shook my head,” he adds. “‘Hell yeah!’ My head dropped back. My eyes rolled. That was the last thing I remember.” Unbeknownst to Portis, the upperclassmen were asking about his commitment to the university.

“The next day, I get up to go down to breakfast, get on the elevator. I’m hung-over,” Portis relays. “Bing. Door opens, one of the coaches walk on, ‘Aw man, congratulations! We heard you committed last night! I say, ‘Huh?’ I’m looking. What?” Portis recounts. “The elevator goes down another floor. The next coach gets on, ‘Aw man, congratulations! We’re so excited to have you here!

Clinton Portis says he and his mother were confused. In the end, he decided to go through with it because the coaches were so excited. That is when he remembered the conversation from the strip club.

“They asked me if I was coming,” he remembers.

“I told the truth, ‘Yeah, I am.’ It wasn’t about coming to Miami. It was that lap dance that I was tellin’ you I was comin’ from. That’s how I committed to the University of Miami.”

It all worked out for Portis in the end. He spent three seasons in the Miami backfield from 1999 to 2001, totaling 2,523 yards and 20 touchdowns. Portis earned a starting role at running back in his freshman season in 1999. He rushed for 1,200 yards and earned third-team All-American honors during the 2001 season.

That was the last year the program would win the National Championship, as its drought continues. Clinton Portis was later inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

From Miami, Portis went on to play nine NFL seasons, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2000. In 2022, things got bad as he was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home detention. It was due to a nationwide health care fraud scheme involving 10 retired NFL players.

Teams