Dallas police received a 911 call Tuesday from the home of Dallas Cowboys player Tyron Smith saying that people he knew had arrived to “harass and torment” him and were “in the pursuit of collecting financial gain,” according to the police report obtained by ABC News.
Smith’s family has reportedly been asking him for money for months, according to a story on ESPNDallas.com. Smith, 21, according to ESPNDallas.com, gave family members a large sum of money after he signed a four-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys in 2011 worth $12.5 million.
“He is the victim, it is very painful,” Smith’s attorney, John Schorsch, told ABC News. “The fact that he’s 6-foot-5 doesn’t change the fact that he’s a victim and that it’s painful. Those closest to you taking advantage of you is tragic.”
Schorsch said Smith’s family had a “money agenda.”
“My daughters went to my son, Tyron Smith’s house, to see and talk to him,” Smith’s mother, Frankie Pinkney, said in an email to ABC News. “They had not seen nor talked to him in months due to a family disagreement, which by the way was not about finances.”
Pinkney, of Moreno Valley, Calif., said Smith’s family had disagreed about Smith’s girlfriend, Leigh Costa, who lives with him and is five years older. When Smith’s sisters approached their brother’s home Tuesday, Costa would not open the door, Pinkney said.
Pinkney’s daughters did not threaten anyone or ask for money while at Smith’s home, she said.
It is unclear whether or not Smith was home at the time, and Smith’s lawyer declined to comment specifically on the incident.
Costa could not be reached by ABC News for comment.
“Her [Smith’s mother] account is stunningly inaccurate, and since there is a restraining order that was issued previously this summer that would prohibit her contact, one might ask why she would know anything about it,” Schorsh said. “She’s not supposed to be there [Smith’s home], and she’s not supposed to be sending folks there because of what she was doing and her husband was doing, according to the restraining order.”
Smith filed a protective order against his mother and his stepfather, Roy Pinkney, last summer to keep them away from him, ESPNDallas.com reported. The order prohibits contact from Smith’s parents through Smith’s siblings. Pinkney declined to comment on the order.
Smith graduated from the University of Southern California and was the first round draft pick for the Cowboys in the 2011 draft and the ninth overall pick. The 21-year-old started in all 16 games he played that season and was the youngest player in the National Football League at the time.
Cowboy officials would not comment on Smith’s situation. Smith’s agent did not respond to requests for comment.
“I know most mothers would say their sons would never hurt them nor betray them for anyone,” Pinkney told ABC News. “I’m here to tell you that I thought the same thing, but it happened to me.”
Smith’s lawyer denied Pinkney’s claim that her son betrayed her.
“Unless betrayal is defined to mean ‘I need to maintain my own safety and I need to protect myself,’ I don’t see what betrayal exists,” Schorsch said.
“He’s just such a good kid. He doesn’t deserve this, he doesn’t want this,” Schorsch said. “He tries really hard every day. His mentality was to not strike back in any sense. It took a lot for him to simply just say stop.”
