Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Xavier Worthy was arrested in Texas on Friday night on charges of felony domestic violence.
Worthy, a 2024 first-round draft pick out of Texas University, was booked into the Williamson County Jail on a “criminal charge of assault against a family or household member by impeding their breathing or circulation,” according to online records. He had not yet posted bond as of Saturday afternoon.
A third-degree felony in Texas, the charge accuses the suspect of “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth.”
If convicted, Worthy, 21, could face a sentence of two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Police provided few other details regarding Worthy’s arrest. The identity of the alleged victim is unclear.
In a statement on Saturday, the athlete’s attorneys condemned the allegations as “baseless,” claiming they were made by a cheating girlfriend and only because she got caught. They said tensions between the pair initially sparked last month, when the Chiefs rookie learned the “complainant” had been unfaithful.
She was “asked multiple times over the last two weeks to vacate Mr. Worthy’s residence upon discovery of her infidelity,” his lawyers said, but she refused and instead resorted to “a number of extortive efforts” before the wide receiver’s arrest on Friday.
The statement also claimed she “destroyed a room in the residence, scratched Mr. Worthy’s face and ripped out parts of his hair.”
The incident comes just more than a month after Worthy wrapped up an impressive rookie season, which saw him score two touchdowns during Super Bowl LIX. Worthy is also the second Kansas City wide receiver to recently face trouble in Texas.
In March 2024, Rashee Rice and another driver, Theodore Knox, were involved in a high-speed car crash on Central Expressway. It triggered a chain reaction on the Dallas highway involving four other vehicles, police said at the time.
Rice is facing two civil lawsuits in connection with the crash as well as criminal charges including aggravated assault and collision involving serious bodily injury as well as six counts of collision involving injury.