Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib denies the allegations that he fired multiple shots from a handgun at Shannon Billings, his sister's boyfriend, on March 21.
Talib surrendered to Garland, Texas police on Wednesday and has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony that, if convicted, carries a prison term of 2 to 20 years.
Earlier on Thursday, Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times reported that Talib was formulating his defense, with one of his college coaches indicating that Talib's mother, Okolo Talib, had fired all the shots.
Talib's attorneys, Jay Reisinger and Frank Perez, issued a statement denying the allegations, and blasting the media coverage of the incident.
"On March 30, 2011, Aqib Talib voluntarily reported to law enforcement authorities in Dallas County, Texas to address certain charges that have been lodged against him. It is important to note that these charges are only allegations, allegations that Aqib vigorously denies.
"Given that the charges are only allegations, we are deeply troubled that certain members of the media have jumped to unfair conclusions concerning Aqib. Aqib is confident that once all of the facts are known, this matter will be resolved favorably and in an expeditious fashion. Aqib remains very committed to his family and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization. Given the sensitive nature of this matter, we cannot comment any further."
When reports of the incident first surfaced, several Tampa-area columnists (here, here) called the Buccaneers to trade or release Talib, despite acknowledging that he's likely the team's best defensive player and that the team would not win as many games without him in a Buccaneers' uniform.
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