A Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman is facing serious issues with the Tuscaloosa police and is making his grievances known.
Isaiah Buggs, in a statement shared with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, responded to an earlier charge of animal cruelty in the Alabama city where he played for the Crimson Tide.
#Chiefs DE Isaiah Buggs is facing two misdemeanor warrants issued by Tuscaloosa police for second-degree cruelty to dogs. Buggs is accused of leaving two dogs locked on his property with no access to food or water, according to @TuscaloosaPatch.
Buggs, through his lawyer Trey Robinson, has denied the charges, alleging a “concerted effort” by the City of Tuscaloosa and the police department to force the closure of his hookah lounge.
Statement from #Chiefs DL Isaiah Buggs’ agent, Trey Robinson, who says his client has been the subject of police harassment and arrested two times over his refusal to close his Tuscaloosa hookah joint.
“Isaiah vehemently denies the truthfulness of the allegations and charges asserted against him today. Under no circumstance does Mr. Buggs condone the mistreatment of any animal. The dogs at issue did not belong to him, and he was unaware they remained at the property in question,” the statement says.
“Furthermore, we believe the City of Tuscaloosa’s decision to file the charges today is part of a concerted effort by the City of Tuscaloosa and its Police Department to besmirch Mr. Buggs’ name and reputation as part of an ongoing subversive campaign to force the close of his local business, Kings Hookah Lounge.”
RELATED: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Speaks on the Rashee Rice Offseason Legal Drama
Robinson’s statement also claims that Buggs has been arrested twice in the past few months without any public record of the arrests, and the city has threatened to publicize them to compel Buggs to surrender his business license.
“These efforts are not new, as Mr. Buggs was arrested at his business on misdemeanor charges on two separate occasions in the past two months. Each time, no public record was made of these arrests. Rather, the City used the threat of pursuing and publicizing both the allegations filed today and these arrests as leverage against Mr. Buggs, offering to drop and not pursue them in exchange for his voluntary surrender of his business license. Mr. Buggs declined the City’s offer as he has serious concerns about the motivations of the City and Police Department in targeting his business, which he plans to bring to light as part of his defense against the allegations and charges filed against him, as well as in defense of his reputation and business.”
Buggs played in ten games for the Detroit Lions last season and recorded 12 tackles with one sack.
