Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay has reportedly been arrested as of Wednesday night in Overland Park, Kansas, per KCTV5.
Per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the misdemeanor charge was for criminal damage to property.
Per the filed report, a wall, door frame, and vacuum were all broken during an argument by Gay and charges were filed. Willie Gay’s reps provided further perspective.
Per Willie Gay’s rep Maxx Lepselter, Gay was at his son’s house visiting. He and the mother got into an argument, during which he broke her vacuum. "No one was touched … beyond the broken appliance” per Lepselter. Gay was charged with destruction of property of less than $1,000. https://t.co/vjAdxy67rz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 20, 2022
Per the court filing: Gay damaged a vacuum cleaner, wall, door frame, to the extent of less than $1,000.00, in which another person had an interest, without the consent of such person, a class B non-person misdemeanor, which constitutes a domestic violence offense.
— Rob Collins (@RCFOX4KC) January 20, 2022
Gay has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Team officials said they are aware of the situation but provided no comment for the media at this time.
The Chiefs at this point are knee-deep in preparations to host the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how the details, as they come out, might affect things for the linebacker—either from the team or the league. Suffice it to say, this is a pivotal point in the Chiefs season.
Gay originally came to the Chiefs as their second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft as a high-ceiling linebacker out of Mississippi State. He started 8 games for the Chiefs last season but was injured at this time last year during the team’s postseason run.
This year, Gay missed the first several games of the year with a toe injury that lingered from the preseason but he slid right into a starting role upon his return and was a big part of the team’s defensive turnaround near midseason. During the regular season, he had 48 total tackles, 4 passes deflected, and 2 interceptions for the Chiefs in 437 snaps.