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Prosecutors have reached a verdict in Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay’s criminal damage case.
Prosecutors have agreed to let Gay enter a diversion program in order to avoid trial and any further jail time, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. Gay has agreed to “take mental health counseling, submit to drug and alcohol testing, pay fines, fees and restitution, and generally keep his nose clean for 12 months” as part of the diversion program, per TMZ.
According to TMZ, if all conditions are met prosecutors are expected to dismiss the case.
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Gay Arrested in Overland Park, Kansas
Gay, 23, was arrested on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, in Overland Park, Kansas, in a misdemeanor criminal damage case, according to KCTV5 News. Records from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office show the second-year linebacker was arrested around 10:30 p.m. Central time and processed through the county’s central booking facility in Olathe just after midnight on January 20. According to court records, no bond was set and he was scheduled for arraignment at 2:30 p.m. the same day.
Gay was accused of property damage “to a vacuum, cell phone screen, wall/door frame and a humidifier,” according to Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star, who obtained the Overland Park police department offense report.
McDowell also reported that, according to police, “there were no drugs, alcohol or weapon” involved in the incident.
Gay was at his son’s house and got into an argument with his son’s mother, according to Gay’s agent, Maxx Lepselter, who released a statement to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
During his court appearance on January 20, Gay pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor property damage, according to McDowell.
Gay was released from custody around 5:30 p.m. Eastern time the same day after posting a $1,000 bond, per the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office records.
The mother of Gay’s child petitioned Johnson County court for a protective order against Gay on January 21, according to Rob Collins of Fox4 Kansas City.
Gay Reveals Reason Behind Mental Health Issues
Gay had a rough start to the 2021 season.
After starting the season sidelined due to a toe injury, Gay was on track to make his regular season debut in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. However, his mental health nearly stopped that from happening, which he revealed on Twitter a couple of days before the primetime matchup.
Gay wound up getting back into the lineup, but never addressed the specific reasoning behind his mental health struggles. However, that has now changed, as Gay spoke about his mental health last season after Day 2 of mandatory minicamp in Kansas City.
“I learned from some things… I had my baby boy being born 16 weeks early,” Gay said on June 15. “He’s healthy now — doing good — so that’s some weight taken off my shoulders. So I just keep my head down, man, stay focused in this building, and try to keep everything outside of here in line and stay focused.”
Gay’s son was born on October 20.
The third-year linebacker further detailed where his mind was at early in the 2021 season.
“I just kept praying and staying strong. My teammates kept me encouraged… It was hard in the beginning of the season. When we played Tennessee, [I] caught the interception and it gave me a little bit of hope, I’m not gonna lie, because it was tough the first few weeks of the season. I just pray that this year will be a year — I know adversity will come, but just fight through it even more.”
Although Gay said that “a lot” of his teammates helped him through his struggles last season, he specifically named defensive tackles Khalen Saunders and Chris Jones, and safety Tyrann Mathieu as teammates that were very helpful throughout the process.
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