Ex-NFL player charged with sexual assault

One week just isn’t enough. More sports news courtesy of Sports Illustrated…

A former Detroit Lion receiver and Fraser High School track coach is facing up to life in prison on allegations he groped and had sex with a young female athlete. Tommie Boyd, 38, was arraigned Thursday in Roseville District Court on six felony counts stemming from two cases of alleged sexual misconduct. Boyd was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of accosting children for immoral purpose for incidents that allegedly occurred at Fraser High School and the student’s home beginning in 2007.

Ex-Buc charged with domestic assault on Super Bowl weekend

…and the Super Bowl celebration continues thanks to the Miami Herald…

Warren Sapp, a University of Miami legend and former All-Pro lineman in town to provide TV commentary for the Super Bowl, was arrested by Miami Beach police Saturday after his girlfriend accused him of choking her and throwing her in the couple’s hotel room.

The alleged attack occurred about 5 a.m., after the couple had been partying at Miami Beach’s Shore Club hotel, 1901 Collins Ave., the police report said.

The woman — police did not identify her — called authorities at noon Saturday. Officers arrived at the hotel and met with the 37-year-old former NFL star before taking him to police headquarters, said police spokesman Detective Juan Sanchez.

After detectives questioned Sapp and his girlfriend, police charged Sapp with misdemeanor domestic battery. He was taken to Miami-Dade County jail Saturday evening.

Sapp was set to provide commentary for the Super Bowl — but the NFL Network is taking him off the air until the company reviews the incident.

The girlfriend told police she had been sleeping in the couple’s hotel room when Sapp came in, pulled her out of bed and demanded that she leave the room. As she began to get dressed, he grabbed her neck and began to choke her, the report said.

He shoved her onto a couch and questioned her about men she listed on her cell phone, then picked her up by her shirt and neck and threw her back down, the report stated.

The tussle continued, the report said, and Sapp eventually pushed her out of the room, where she sought help from someone in the hallway.

The report said he sent her a text message that said, “You whore.”

Police reported the woman had bruises on her neck and a swollen right knee. She was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center.

But, according to the report, Sapp told police there was no fight — and that she slipped off the couch after he asked her to leave the room because he was expecting company.

Sapp told detectives he “tried to help her get off the couch, but she fell backwards and fell on her leg,” the report stated.

Sapp was a star defensive tackle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders before retiring in 2008. He then competed on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, where he finished in second place. He has his own clothing line, QB Killa, and is a commentator on the NFL Network’s GameDay Morning.

The NFL Network is temporarily pulling him off the job.

“In light of these circumstances, Warren Sapp will not appear on NFL Network while we review the matter,” the company said in an e-mail to The Miami Herald.

Sapp is no stranger to Miami Beach: At other times, he’s been spotted at The Forge restaurant and swimming at the Gansevoort South hotel’s rooftop pool, racing Olympic champion Michael Phelps.

Hours before the incident with his girlfriend Saturday morning, Sapp was scheduled to appear at the B.E.D. nightclub on South Beach for a disk jockey’s birthday party.

Police said his next appearance will likely be before a judge Sunday morning.

Cowboys’ fullback can’t outrun the law

Sports news from the AP and Fox Sports…

Dallas Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson is free on his own recognizance after his arrest at a suburban restaurant parking lot.

The incident happened early Tuesday in the Dallas suburb of Addison. A statement issued by the town of Addison says police answered an aggravated assault report and learned of a confrontation between several men and a parking valet.

Police arrested the 27-year-old Anderson on outstanding traffic warrants from Irving, another Dallas suburb. Also arrested was his 25-year-old brother, Devon Anderson, on a public intoxication charge.

Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple says team officials are aware of the incident and are investigating.

Deon Anderson played 16 games in his third season, including nine starts, making one catch for 5 yards.

Washington lineman arrested for PI in Iowa

Sports news from ESPN and the AP…

DES MOINES, Iowa – Washington Redskins guard Chad Rinehart has been arrested on public intoxication charges in Iowa after he pulled on a locked door at a pizza restaurant.

University of Northern Iowa police spokesman Dave Zariffs says officers responded to a door alarm at Mojo’s Pizza House in Cedar Falls about 2 a.m. on Monday. When they arrived they found Rinehart pulling on a locked door.

A police report says Rinehart, who played at Northern Iowa from 2004-07, appeared to be intoxicated. Rinehart refused a breath test and was arrested.

Rinehart was taken to the Black Hawk County jail and released by court order.

Rinehart is a native of Boone, Iowa. He made four starts for the Redskins last season before breaking his right leg.

The team issued a statement saying it was “aware of this incident” but had no further comment.

Bengals rookie charged with DWI

NFL news from ESPN…

CINCINNATI — Police in northern Kentucky have arrested Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga on charges of drunken and careless driving.

Covington police spokesman Spike Jones says Maualuga hit a parking meter and two parked cars early Friday with his 2003 Pontiac. There was minor damage.

The 23-year-old was held about seven hours at the Kenton County jail before being released on his own recognizance.

The Bengals’ 2009 second-round draft choice from Southern Cal started the first 15 games of his rookie season before breaking his left ankle.

Team spokesman Jack Brennan says he won’t comment until the case is resolved. A message was left for agent Gary Uberstine.

Former Chief busted for possession

Sports news from the UPI…

CLARKSVILLE, Ind., Jan. 28 (UPI) — Former NFL offensive lineman Chris Terry was arrested in Indiana on charges including possession of cocaine, authorities said.

Police in Clarksville, Ind., allege in an arrest report that Terry, 34, was driving erratically on a highway Wednesday morning when he was stopped by a police officer. The officer said he smelled alcohol on the former professional football player, who refused to take a breathalyzer test. An open alcoholic beverage was allegedly found inside the car, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Thursday.

Clark County Sheriff’s office spokesman Chuck Adams said Terry faces preliminary charges of possession of cocaine, possession of a handgun without a permit and driving while intoxicated.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said Terry’s two passengers, identified as David Colbath, 30, and April Owens, 29, were arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and public intoxication.

Terry most recently played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007 after a stint with the Carolina Panthers, who drafted the lineman out of the University of Georgia in 1999, the Courier-Journal reported.

Former school board member caught with kiddie porn

Welcome to Criminal of the Day’s Super Bowl coverage. This first tale comes to us from the Houston Chronicle…

A former La Porte ISD board member was arrested Wednesday on four charges of possession of child pornography, prosecutors said.

Larry Donald Cox, 66, is accused of downloading pornographic computer images of pubescent and prepubescent children.

After investigators with Houston Metro Internet Crimes against Children Task Force found several explicit videos on computers at Cox’s La Porte home, he told police that he was afraid to be with his grandchildren because he could not control himself, court documents show.

Calls to Cox’s home were not returned.

In a prepared statement Wednesday, La Porte School Superintendent Lloyd Graham said the board and administration were shocked by the allegations and charges.

“Actions by individuals leading to such charges are not indicative of the man that we knew,” Graham said.

The third-degree felony carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

Cox, a former professional football player, resigned Jan. 6 from the school board for “personal reasons.” He served eight months of his second two-year term, having been re-elected last May. In a special meeting Jan. 11, former board president Gene Horn was appointed to serve until the May 8 election.

According to the district, Cox worked in La Porte schools from 1974 to 2002, serving as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal. He was a defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos for four years in the mid-1960s.

Food fight leads to felony charge

Foodie news from KRGV-TV (Brownsville, TX)…

BROWNSVILLE – A restaurant owner faces an aggravated assault charge.  This is after police say she threw a plate a customer who complained about his order.

Maria Del Rayo Cordero already posted a $7,500 bond.

Police were called to El Rancho Alegre Café, or “The Happy Ranch Cafe,” on East 14th Street Saturday afternoon. Investigators say the customer complained he was served a beef milanesa plate, instead of chicken.

Police say Cordero told the man to pay for the food anyway and leave. An argument ensued. The owner allegedly threw a tray of food and tea at the customer. The customer then threw the tea back. Police say that’s when the owner grabbed a ceramic plate and hit the customer on the forehead. Paramedics treated him at the scene.

Woman fined for “back taxes”

This comes to us from Reuters…

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s tax office has levied a fine of 2.3 million zlotys ($820,000) on an unemployed woman for failing to pay tax on income worth at least 13.7 million zlotys she said she had earned as a prostitute.

The woman told the tax office in the southern city of Katowice that she had very “generous” customers, the website gazeta.pl, which is linked to leading Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, reported Tuesday.

One of her clients paid the woman 5 million zlotys during the 1997-2002 period, she was quoted as saying.

The website gave no further details.

A beer, a hug and an arrest

Sporting news from Reuters…

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s parliament fined a national hockey player and two team officials for un-Islamic behavior after pictures circulated of them hugging a woman and apparently drinking alcohol in Argentina last month.

Pakistan is a conservative Muslim country where men hugging women in public is taboo and even men shaking hands with women is frowned upon. Drinking alcohol is illegal for Muslims.

National field hockey team player Rehan Butt was fined 100,000 rupees ($1,175) while coach Shahid Ali Khan and manager Asif Bajwa were fined 50,000 rupees ($600) each, the chairman of the National Assembly’s standing committee on sports said.

“Islamic culture does not allow us to hug a lady and have alcohol,” committee chairman Jamshed Ahmed Dasti told Reuters.

Pictures run by a Pakistani television channel and posted on the Internet showed one of the men hugging a woman and another apparently drinking a beer.

Another picture showed a group of men sitting at a table with glasses in front of them, apparently containing alcohol.

Bajwa told Dunya Television the woman in the photograph was a tournament liaison officer.

“All officials and players considered her as our sister,” Bajwa said before the fines were imposed.

The pictures were taken at the end of the tournament, after Pakistan lost in the final to New Zealand, and the woman had put the pictures on her Facebook page, he said.

Field hockey is Pakistan’s national sport although the team’s fortunes have waned since it won Olympic gold in 1984.

Dasti said the team’s failure at the tournament made the “disgusting” activities that much worse.

In 2007, Minister of Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar handed in her resignation after religious hardliners raised a storm of criticism when a picture of her appeared hugging her parachute instructor after completing a jump for charity in France.