KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The woman who accused Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy of attacking her last week, resulting in a case in which the district attorney has so far declined to pursue charges, has been granted a protective order against him by a Texas judge.
Attorneys for Tia Jones confirmed the order in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday night. They added that Jones is “fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue to actively investigate the violence that occurred.”
“Ms. Jones has chosen to use her voice to speak up for herself,” said Angelica Cogliano, who is representing the woman along with attorneys Addy Miro, Leslie Booker and Deniz Kadirhan. “In doing so, she looks forward to the facts and circumstances of that night coming to light through the formal legal process, and getting the justice that she deserves.”
Worthy was arrested last Friday and held in a county jail on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded, or choking in common terms. He was released the following day, when Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick said that his office has spoken with witnesses and was not accepting the case at that time.
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 woman who had been living in Worthy’s home, and that she had been asked to leave 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 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 AP on Saturday that they were aware of the situation and still gathering information.
Worthy was chosen by the Chiefs with the 28th overall pick in last year’s draft after setting the record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. He got off to a quick start by scoring a pair of touchdowns in his NFL debut, and after a midseason lull, he became the Chiefs’ go-to wide receiver as they chased an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
Worthy finished with 59 catches for 638 yards and six TDs while running 20 times for 104 yards and three more scores.
He was one of the few bright spots for the Chiefs in a 40-22 loss to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, too. Worthy caught all eight of his targets for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns at the Superdome in New Orleans.
