Seahawks release Boykin after assault allegation
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Trevone Boykin (2) attempts to pass as he's pressured by the Oakland Raiders' James Cowser (47) during a play which resulted in a safety for the Raiders in the second quarter of preseason action at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS)
DALLAS (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks released quarterback Trevone Boykin on Tuesday shortly after his girlfriend alleged in a television interview that he physically assaulted her in Texas last week.
The practice squad player was released from the team after WFAA-TV in Dallas posted an interview with Boykin’s girlfriend detailing an assault she alleges happened on March 20 in Mansfield, just southwest of Dallas. The woman said she refused to show Boykin a text message and an argument ensued, and that he broke her jaw and tried to strangle her.
Boykin, 24, denied the allegations in a statement released Tuesday to NFL Media. He called the allegations false and said he wasn’t involved in a physical fight.
“This woman has lied about me and it has cost me my job,” he wrote. “I understand the Seahawks decision to release me. The story that was reported casts a bad light on the organization and on me.”
Boykin’s agent, Drew Pittman, also told WFAA that the allegations were false. A call to the agent’s cellphone by The Associated Press went unanswered Tuesday.
Mansfield police spokesman Sgt. Michael Midkiff said the department is investigating the alleged assault. He said no charges had been filed as of Tuesday and that the investigation was in a very early stage.
The assault allegation is the latest off-field issue for Boykin, who has spent his NFL career with Seattle.
He was arrested in Dallas last year when a vehicle he was a passenger in hit several people on a sidewalk. He fled the scene on foot but was later arrested on misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and possession of marijuana.
In 2015, Boykin was arrested for assaulting a police officer and public intoxication shortly before the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio during his senior season at TCU. Boykin, who was the team’s quarterback, was suspended for the bowl game.