NFL QB’s horrific past comes out after disturbing assault on girlfriend
Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin was arrested Wednesday after police in Mansfield, Texas, investigated his girlfriend’s allegation that he viciously attacked her last week.
Boykin faces a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony that carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Shabrika Bailey, who said she and Boykin had been in a relationship since high school, went public about the incident in an interview that aired Monday on WFAA-TV in Dallas.
Speaking with a broken jaw wired shut, Bailey said she and Boykin got into an argument March 21 at his home in Mansfield, just southeast of Fort Worth.
He became enraged that she refused to unlock her phone so he could see a text message, she said. Boykin grabbed her by the neck and choked her until she was unconscious, Bailey said.
Bailey said she “woke up in a puddle of blood on the kitchen floor. My whole right side was full of blood on the kitchen floor.”
Boykin cleaned her up and took her to a nearby hospital, she said, but when hospital staff started asking questions, Boykin fled.
According to KTVT-TV in Dallas, police received a call from the hospital about the alleged assault March 21.
On Tuesday, Mansfield police interviewed Boykin at his house and gathered evidence from the scene. While there, detectives noticed surveillance cameras.
After getting a search warrant, officers reviewed video footage from the cameras and saw “what appeared to be an assault that occurred inside the residence,” according to police.
Boykin was taken into custody Wednesday without incident.
The Seahawks released him Tuesday morning without commenting on the alleged assault.
The @Seahawks have released QB Trevone Boykin this morning.
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) March 27, 2018
The former TCU quarterback has been arrested numerous times over the past three years.
In December 2015, Boykin was arrested on misdemeanor assault and resisting arrest charges for allegedly striking a patrol officer after a bar fight in San Antonio. He pleaded no contest and received a year of probation.
Bailey and Boykin were both arrested last March after she backed a car into the wall of a Dallas nightclub, injuring several people. Bailey faced two charges of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury, and Boykin, who was a passenger, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and public intoxication.
Boykin’s arrest in that incident led to another in April for violating the terms of his probation — but it could have been much worse.
In the WFAA interview Monday, Bailey said she crashed the car into the nightclub because Boykin was attacking her. “He leaned over, attacked me, and choked me unconscious, which made the car go into drive to reverse,” she said.
Bailey said she didn’t speak up then because “I was just scared. Terrified, of everything.”
After the Seahawks cut him Tuesday, Boykin released a statement strongly denying Bailey’s allegations.
“I want to be clear that the story is false,” he said. “The police have taken statements from the accuser, another witness and me. All of these statements confirm that I was not involved in the physical altercation. This woman has lied about me and it has cost me my job. I know guilt by association is real. This person has fabricated a story and I am suffering the consequences. I will let the legal system run its course and I know I will be vindicated.”
The NFL was widely criticized for its handling of domestic violence incidents in 2014 after Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was caught on tape beating his then-fiance.
The league announced a new personal conduct policy that year outlining stiffer penalties for domestic violence: a six-game suspension without pay for the first offense and a lifetime ban for a second offense.
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