AUSTIN, Texas — Xavier Worthy was released Saturday after a district attorney in Texas declined to pursue charges against the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver following an arrest in which he had been accused of felony domestic violence.
Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick told the Austin American-Statesman his office had spoken with witnesses and was not accepting the case at this time. He also said Worthy and his lawyers were fully cooperating with the investigation.
Records showed that Worthy had been arrested Friday by deputies and held in the county jail on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded, or choking in common terms. The online court listing for the case was updated to ‘’dismissed/declined'' later Saturday.
Williamson County includes parts of Austin, where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.
In a statement, Worthy’s attorneys, Chip Lewis and Sam Bassett, said their client was innocent of the charge against him. They said the allegation was made by a female who had been living in Worthy’s home, and that she had been asked to leave the home multiple times over the last two weeks ‘’upon discovery of her infidelity.‘’
‘‘She has refused to vacate the residence and made a number of extortive efforts prior to resorting to this baseless allegation against Mr. Worthy,‘’ the lawyers' statement said. ‘’The complainant further destroyed a room in the residence, scratched Mr. Worthy’s face and ripped out parts of his hair, which there is photographic evidence of. Worthy told law enforcement at the time of the incident he did not want to press charges against the complainant.‘’
The Chiefs told The Associated Press on Saturday that they were aware of the situation and still gathering information.
Under Texas law, impeding breathing means ‘’intentionally, knowingly or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth.‘’
