CHARLOTTE (Court TV) — A trio of Carolina Panther employees took the stand Thursday morning to bolster Rae Carruth's claim that he had no motive to kill his pregnant girlfriend.

Team personnel told jurors that Carruth was healthy and wealthy, and had good prospects of remaining so in the future. This portrait of the wide receiver contradicted that drawn by the family of victim Cherica Adams, who have suggested Carruth was worried about money after being sidelined by an ankle injury.

"We didn't feel it was that severe," said team trainer John Kasik of a sprain Carruth suffered the month before Adams' fatal shooting. "We felt he'd be able to return to play."

Carruth, a first-round draft pick of the Panthers, is accused of masterminding the November 1999 drive-by shooting of Adams, a 24-year-old who was seven months pregnant with his son. The baby survived the assault, but Adams died a month later, one year ago today.

Prosecutors claim Carruth did not want to pay child support and, during their case, put a pair of witnesses on the stand who said Carruth told them as much. The state, however, is not required to prove motive and did not focus its case further on the why of the murder.

The defense, in the third day of its case, concentrated on what it maintains is a lack of motive. Kasik, the head trainer, testified that Carruth was on the mend the week Adams was shot. Propping his ankle on the witness box, Kasik led the jury through a long list of physical therapy treatments given to Carruth. The sprain turned out to be minor and Carruth was slated to start the next game for the Panthers, the trainer said.

The team suspended Carruth without pay when he was arrested and later fired him after he jumped bail and fled to Tennessee. Carruth wants to return to football if he is acquitted.

Marty Hurney

Three of his former teammates testified this week about Carruth's actions in the locker room and off the field, but Thursday's witnesses talked about his professional life.

Kasik and Marty Hurney, the director of football operations, detailed Carruth's career with the Panthers. He was drafted in 1997 and played a remarkable rookie season, recording 44 receptions. In 1998, he missed most of the season after breaking his foot in the first game. He made only four receptions that year.

Kasik testified that Carruth recovered completely from the foot fracture and, after a brief ligament strain in August 1999, was able to return to the field.

The October 1999 ankle sprain, he said, was not career-threatening.

Hurney told jurors about Carruth's four-year $3.7 million contract. He said Carruth earned $652,000 in 1999 and the team planned to keep him on the next year at a salary of $761,000. Hurney also discussed Carruth's potential earning power with the Panthers. He explained that the type of offense used by the Panthers relied heavily on receivers like Carruth.

He was "a fast receiver who could catch and had big-play potential," said Hurney.

Under questioning by defense attorney Chris Fialko, Hurney acknowledged that Carruth would earn even more as he graduated from his rookie contract.

Barbara Harrison

The Panther back office also provided a character witness for Carruth in the form of Barbara Harrison, the director of community relations and family programs. Harrison, a former television reporter who spoke confidently and maintained eye contact with the jurors, described Carruth as "always respectful."

She said he pleasantly surprised her in February 1999 when he came into her office and asked her help in finding a volunteer opportunity. Carruth, she said, wanted to teach T-ball to inner-city children. With her help, she said, he became the head coach of a YMCA team.

"It's not typical of a player to come to us," she said, explaining that she usually has to track down players to participate in good-will programs.