Antonio and Terricka Cromartie. (Getty)
Terricka Cromartie, the wife of conerback Antonio Cromartie, claimed in a now-deleted Instagram post that her husband was cut by the Indianapolis Colts in October 2016 because he took a knee during the national anthem. On May 15, Terricka announced that she’s expecting Cromartie’s 14th child.
Terricka’s comments came after Colts owner Jim Irsay said he didn’t agree with players protesting the national anthem.
Cromartie and Terricka have been married since 2008 and have four children together. Cromartie has at least 13 children in total.
Here’s a look at Terricka and what she wrote on Instagram today.
1. Terricka Claims Her Husband’s Decision to Go With His Heart ‘Cost Him His Job’
Terricka Cromartie in 2010. (Getty)
The 28-year-old Terricka lashed out on Instagram, claiming that Irsay and the Colts cut Cromartie only because of his decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest police shootings and racial oppression. She has since turned her Instagram page private, although her Twitter page is still public.
Terricka wrote on Instagram:
You are Nothing More than an Entertainer. Just Shut and do what we say. You have No rights as along as you are working for me.. there are other places for you to fight and stand for what you believe…. One things for sure I know my husband was told Not to take a Knee and he went with his heart and he took one. And that cost him his Job.. and Clearly this Statement backs that up… Just a Paid To put on a show.
As ESPN notes, Irsay told reporters earlier this week that the players’ protest “hasn’t been a positive thing,” adding, “What we all have to be aware of as players, owners, PR people, equipment managers, is when the lights go on we are entertainment. We are being paid to put on a show. There are other places to express yourself.”
Colts head coach Chuck Pagano insisted that the four-time Pro Bowler was cut because of his performance. He was benched during the second half of the Colts’ loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
2. Terricka Gave Birth to Twins In May, Despite Cromartie Having a Vasectomy
(Getty)
In January 2016, the Cromarties stunned everyone by announcing that Terricka was expecting twins, even though Cromartie got a vasectomy. The couple, who married in November 2008, are also parents to Jurzie, 5, and Jagger, 3.
Their twins, named Jynx and J’adore, were born on Mother’s Day in May.
Cromartie decided to have a vasectomy because he already had at least 10 children from eight different women before the twins were born, notes the New York Daily News.
“To be honest, I’ve gone back and forth about if I wanted to share the news or not,” Terricka told Us Weekly. “All my children are blessings and all of Antonio’s children are blessings, for that matter. It was made to seem that my children weren’t a blessing because they were categorized by a number, and for that reason and that reason alone, I hid both of my [first two] pregnancies with my husband, just so I could enjoy them with those who were really happy for me.”
Terricka is now expecting Cromartie’s 14th child. She revealed on Instagram that the baby will be due this summer. She’s 25 weeks pregnant and is challenging her fans to guess if the baby is a boy or girl. A source told TMZ that the baby will be born in 15 weeks.
3. A Report in 2012 Claimed Terricka Faked a Suicide Attempt to Get Cromartie’s Attention
In 2012, The New York Post reported that Terricka, whose husband was still playing with the Jets at the time, faked a suicide attempt just to get his attention. The Post reported that she sent him a text that read, “God forgive me, I don’t want to die. What have I done?” and another that said she took pills and cut her wrists.
At the time, Cromartie was in Maimi, so he called police in Randolph Township, New Jersey to report his wife’s possible suicide attempt. However, when they arrived, they didn’t find her bleeding at all.
“She stated that she had no intention of going through with the act,” a police report from the incident, which took place in May 2011, read. “She said she was exercising her First Amendment right to free speech and could say whatever she wanted.”
Terricka was ordered to have a psychiatric evaluation, but she refused and wanted to have a driver take her to an airport so she could be at a wedding in Miami. She was “belligerent, uncooperative, irrational and argumentative,” police said in the report, according to the Post.
Cromartie’s rep did not comment on the Post’s report.
4. Cromartie & Terricka Filmed a Reality Show Earlier This Year
Terricka has worked as a model and appeared in the short-lived 2009 series Candy Girls. She and her husband are hoping to get back in the reality show game by filming one of their own lives. The series will focus on the couple’s blended family.
“To be honest, I just feel that our family dynamic is very interesting, I think we’re very misjudged from the outside looking in and I just wanted to showcase how relatable we are, how blended families do work and, you know, regardless of your circumstances, you can still be successful in your family life,” Terricka told In Touch Weekly in May 2016.
“And I believe we are an example of that… We have a lot of fun with each other, there’s a lot of love,” she explained. “My husband is a very hands-on father and the kids just adore him.”
Us Weekly reports that the couple are also working on a book about blended families.
5. In August, Terricka Blamed Cromartie’s Mother for Him Having Fathered so Many Kids
In August 2016, TMZ reported that Cromartie was evicting his mother from a house in Florida he bought her in 2007. A rep for the cornerback told TMZ that his mother had been paying the mortgage on the house since 2011 and she began to refuse to do so in June 2016.
This sparked a nasty statement on social media Terricka posted on Instagram a few days after TMZ’s report.
“You can dislike me his wife as much as you want but look at what you are doing to your child. This is why my husband prolly fathered so many kids because the lack of love from you,” Terricka wrote, complaining that hos mother was ruining Cromartie’s credit. “Money really is the root of all evil … My Job is to make sure all our children have a future, all 13 of them.”