Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib is officially a wanted man. An arrest warrant has been issued for Talib for charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Talib and his mother Okolo Talib are alleged to have fired shots at the boyfriend of Talib’s sister in a domestic dispute between the two that took place in Garland, Texas on March 21. Okolo Talib has already surrendered to Garland Police and Aqib is expected to do so later this week. The aggravated assault charge is a second degree felony that can carry a prison sentence ranging from 5 to 20 years. Talib’s bail has been set at $25,000 pending his surrendering to authorities.
As detailed since news of the story broke yesterday morning, Talib has a history with law enforcement and subsequently the NFL’s court of conduct. In spite of the current lockout, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed that players are expected to adhere to the NFL personal conduct policy and will be subjected to disciplinary action once the lockout concludes. Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik could only express how troubled the franchise is by the charges and withheld further comment in respect to the ongoing labor situation.
The question that begs to be asked here is, “Are players taking their running afoul of the law into consideration when assuming they will be able to withstand missing game checks should the lockout run into the season?” Legal fees can become a burden and I doubt anyone has included such fees within their lockout budgeting. One thing is for sure, Aqib Talib can expect to be summoned to Sheriff Goodell’s court once the legal system runs its course.
