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Infamous 2 Live Crew rapper still making headlines, winning court battles, now as high school football coach

Upon listening to the lyrics of "Me So Horny," you might wonder how Florida officials allow anyone from 2 Live Crew, whose degradation of young females was once a subject of the Supreme Court, to mold young men on the football fields in Miami.

That's one subject HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" tackles on Tuesday night.

Luther Campbell's rise from controversial rapper to Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) High defensive coordinator has been covered in this space before when Miami Central (Fla.) High first hired him as linebackers coach and when he transitioned to Northwestern.

The man known throughout the years as Uncle Luke, Luke Skywalker and now Coach Crazy has since been the subject of court proceedings. So, what's changed?

You'll remember Campbell first found himself at the center of controversy when a district court judge declared 2 Live Crew's 1989 double-platinum album "As Nasty as They Wanna Be" obscene, a ruling that was later overturned upon appeal and thrown out of the Supreme Court despite Tipper Gore's best efforts to the contrary.

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Since then, you might also recall Campbell's 1990 legal battle with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas over Luke Skywalker Records, his brief foray into the porn industry last decade, his failed run for mayor of Miami Dade-County in 2011 or his appearance in ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "The U" -- none of which suggest he would be a leader of young men.

What you might not know about Campbell are the details uncovered in a fantastic New York Times piece from this past high school football season, and we're not talking about the portion where Campbell discusses the yacht "Scandalous" he's since sold.

"You’d put on a life vest, jump in the water and go from boat to boat," explained Campbell, now 53. "People having all sorts of wild sex. All these lawyers and politicians and executives. That’s when I knew white people were crazy!"

And, no, that's not where he developed the nickname Coach Crazy. Actually, he's been coaching football for quite some time with the same fervor he once sang the lyrics, "Ahh! Me so horny! Me love you long time!"

Campbell spent more than $80,000 over a quarter-century to develop a Pop Warner program whose Pee Wee Division I teams have won three straight Greater Miami South Florida championships, and that's where this story becomes one of redemption.

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Since 2010, he's volunteered as an assistant coach with city approval at Miami's Central and Northwestern high schools, which have each made appearances on Rivals.com's national prep football rankings, but Florida officials refused to grant him a coaching license until this past summer, when the decision landed in an administrative judge's lap.

Here we go again, Campbell must've thought. But almost 25 years after he won his battle over explicit lyrics, another judge ruled in favor of the former 2 Live Crew frontman, citing his charitable work and success as a coach at various youth levels without incident. He now earns $1,500 at the Miami school five blocks from where he was raised.

As Northwestern linebacker Marquise Blanchard told The New York Times, “If I never met him, I’d probably be dead or in jail. He took me under his wing like I was his son. Most of us don’t got no dads. But he’s a daddy figure.”

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