Cowboys' Marquez White Charged with Assault After Alleged Road Rage Incident
July 9, 2018
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Marquez White has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan.
Natalie Solis of Fox 4 News provided more details on the incident:
According to Tom Steele of the Dallas Morning News, White is being accused of pulling a gun during a road rage encounter in October.
"We are very proud of the way he handled the entire situation," said White's agent, Peter Schaffer, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. "He defused a potentially dangerous encounter and did everything by the book. He notified the team and his agent. The police have done a disservice to him by doing an inadequate investigation and filing charges with no proof or justification."
According to Fox 4 (h/t Dothan Eagle), White said the other driver in the incident was driving aggressively and was riding closely on his tail. At one point, White said the other driver yelled racial slurs at him and threatened to kill him before reaching toward the glove box. White said at that point, he flashed his own gun.
White's lawyer, Toby Shook, also defended his actions, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (h/t ESPN.com).
"Marquez did everything legally. He displayed a gun, but didn't point it at this individual because he was very concerned with how this individual was making threats. I'm hopeful that this case can be dismissed because I don't think he violated the law."
White said the other driver then followed him to his house and contacted the authorities once White went inside. He recounted answering the questions from the police and giving them his gun. He was not arrested following the incident.
"I was informed that multiple letters were sent to my old address in Tallahassee, FL, and that attempts were made to contact me, however, I changed my number during the season," White said in a statement to the Dothan Eagle. "Me and my legal team believe strongly that this a personal attack on my image as well as the Star."
White's defense attorney, Toby Shook, said his client legally owned the weapon, per Fox4News.com.
White, 23, was on the Cowboys' practice squad last season after the team selected him in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft.