Oakland Raiders CB Sean Smith charged with battery after July 4 incident
Sean Smith of the Oakland Raiders was arrested Thursday due to an alleged altercation that occurred on July 4 in Pasadena, CA.
While many of us were chowing down on hot dogs and spectating fireworks, Sean Smith had a much more troubling Independence Day.
The Raiders cornerback spent his holiday involved in a physical incident with his sister’s boyfriend.
According to USA Today, a July 4 assault resulted in his arrest on Thursday.
"The prosecutor alleges Smith “beat and then stomped” the head of his sister’s boyfriend in Pasadena, Calif., in an incident that “inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim.” Smith also was charged with a felony count of battery with serious bodily injury."
Smith, who is a native of Pasadena, is being held on $80,000 bail. His first court date will be held on Sept. 29 and, according to TMZ, he could face up to seven years in jail if convicted.
This is not Smith’s first run-in with the law. In 2015, he pled guilty to a DUI charge following a 2014 single-car accident.
A product of the University of Utah, the Miami Dolphins drafted Smith in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He then played for the Kansas City Chiefs for three seasons. In March 2016, Smith signed a four-year, $40-million contract with the Raiders.
However, in 2016, he recorded the fewest tackles he had since his rookie season and deflected only 11 passes, his fewest total since 2011. Numbers don’t tell the whole story for a cornerback, but if the Raiders were slightly disappointed in the performance of their big free agent signee then, they certainly are not happy now.
Only last month, FanSided studied “How Sean Smith can redeem himself in 2017.” Nowhere in that story did it mention anything about an arrest.
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The Raiders posted a 12-4 record in 2016, but ranked 24th in the NFL in pass yards allowed per game. An off-the-field incident involving one of their secondary stars is not what they needed.