Athlete WAGs Who Have Spent Time In Jail

When there are mentions of a scandal involving an athlete whether they are an Olympic-winner, a footballer or a basketball player, most people expect them to be the ones in trouble, in jail, or sentenced for a crime. However, there are times when sports stars are involved but they aren't the ones causing the scandal, it is actually their girlfriends or wives. These women who get caught committing a crime, in an abuse dispute, or using illegal drugs may end up in jail or on probation.

For most people, it may seem as if athletes are untouchable and they will always be able to escape any sort of punishment. That is probably what some of these women thought. They may have thought they would get away with it because of who they are dating or married to, but they've all had to face the law and own up to their wrongdoings.

Anna Benson was married to Kris Benson, a major league baseball pitcher, between 1999 and 2012. In 2013, a year after their divorce proceedings began, Kris called 911 after his ex broke into his home in Atlanta armed with a gun and demanding a payment of $30,000. She seemed ready to attack as she was wearing a bulletproof vest and an ammunition belt, but luckily Chris escaped uninjured.

According to Daily News, Benson was sentenced to 15 years probation while simultaneously following an in-patient psychiatric treatment. However, she was in jail for four months and after coming out, she said, "I don't smoke pot. I don't drink. I even quit smoking. And I tell you what, I've never felt better" (via NJ.com).

But this wasn't Anna's first encounter with the law. In 1996, the police thought Anna was involved in the murder of Michael Evans Jr. Even though the charges were dropped against her, her then boyfriend and suspected co-conspirator, Paul Dejongh, was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Miko Grimes married Brent Grimes in 2010 and five years later she was on the news after being arrested at a Dolphins game. While attending the game, Miko walked through a restricted area and continued to ignore police warnings. When the officers at the game grabbed her arm to stop her, she pushed away and began cursing at them. Because of this, Miko was handcuffed, but while resisting arrest, she head-butted an officer. Her actions resulted in charges for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest with violence, and battery on a police officer.

She was taken to jail in Miami-Dade County but released on bond, and when a reporter from Chicago Tribune contacted her to see how she was doing, her answer was, "None of your f*****g business. Don't call my phone again." During one of her radio shows, Miko also stated (via CBS News), "I thought I was a bad guy for like five years now and now all of a sudden, I'm a national bad guy." She was later taken off the air while she dealt with her charges.

Months after the charges were first brought against Miko, South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that the charges were dropped. Due to a witness who said Miko hadn't been aggressive or violent with the police officers, the only charges that were officially pressed were resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct.

For a little while, Amaani Noor dated Nigerian soccer player Sheyi Ojo. Before that, she had been a beauty pageant contestant, becoming Miss Teen GB semi-finalist. However, her name spread across the news when Noor was charged for terrorism. In 2019, she was charged for funding terrorism and spent 18 months in jail.

Noor married a man online, planning on joining him and his Islamist fight as soon as she could. In the meantime, she donated money to fund terrorist activities. According to Evening Standard, Noor was using Telegram to communicate with extremist groups and view videos of torture. In one of the encrypted messages, she stated, "It's been my dream to marry a fighter for a long time and my dream to be a fighter myself even longer lol."

After reviewing the evidence against her, Noor was sentenced and the judge said (via Independent), "I hope the sentences send a clear message that we gather evidence and pursue prosecutions against anyone who seeks to engage with and support any form of terrorism."

In 2011, a reality show following the lives of the wives, girlfriends, and former partners of Los Angeles Lakers basketball players premiered: "Basketball Wives." Among the cast was Brittish Williams who joined the other ladies for dating and being briefly engaged to Lorenzo Gordon. However, many may remember Williams for pleading guilty to 15 felony crimes.

On an Instagram post that has been deleted, Williams wrote: "Anything I've went through that a normal person would go through privately, I went through publicly. I hope my story, journey, and my growth can help someone going through something similar, or stops the next person from doing anything that could possibly have them in the same situation as me" (via The Shade Room).

According to a statement shared by the United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said, "British Williams has admitted an unusually large number of frauds that victimized taxpayers, banks, credit card companies, individuals and programs that were intended to help struggling businesses and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a first step towards justice for those victims. We will also be seeking repayment of all of her ill-gotten gains." Among those felonies were misuse of Social Security Number, bank fraud, false statements to the IRS, and wire fraud.

Mía Etcheverría is known for many different things. She was a former exotic film actress, dated a famous soccer player from Uruguay (Richard Morales), and was caught in Montevideo's airport for smuggling 14 pounds of cocaine. Etcheverría was traveling with four other people to Spain when the police came across the powder hidden in the men's luggage. Her lawyer stated she didn't know the drugs were in the suitcase and "The conclusions that she collaborated, that she was aware of the contents, and that she simply passed those suitcases are incorrect" (via Mirror).

The Ministry of the Interior of Uruguay released a statement saying the people involved had been brought to justice and were facing different charges depending on their involvement in the situation (via Daily Mail): "As for the third woman, she was charged 'for her alleged involvement in an offense stipulated in Article 31 of Decree Law 14,294, in the form of attempted drug exportation as an accomplice.' For the first four individuals, pretrial detention was ordered, while the last woman was placed under total house arrest with an electronic monitoring device, all for a period of 90 days."

In 2009, Dirk Nowitzki's former girlfriend, Cristal Taylor, was sentenced to five years in prison by a judge in Missouri. She was facing charges for two different crimes. The first one came for violation of her probation for misdemeanors in Texas in 2000. The second one came from Jefferson County for theft. According to 5NBCDFW, at the time of her arrest and her sentencing, Taylor claimed she was pregnant with Nowitzki's baby and he made it clear that if the allegations were true and a paternity test confirmed it, he would file for custody of their child.

In January 2010, Taylor was released due to an accumulation of time served and decided to continue living in Missouri. Matthew Fry, her lawyer, told The Dallas Morning News, "She's just getting on with her life, with her family. She's very happy, and she's working to become a productive member of society."

Nick and Daniell Harper became the center of attention in 2006 when police were called to the scene after a stabbing incident. According to Danielle, the stabbing was an accident, but the police found Nick with a puncture wound on his knee made by a knife. One of the sheriffs on the scene said, "The accused advised that she was upset with the victim because he would not speak to her, so she obtained a filet knife from a kitchen drawer" (via ESPN).

After spending the night in jail, Daniell was released on a $5,000 bond pending her trial. However, 13WTHR reported later that Nick was also charged for domestic battery after he punched Danielle multiple times. She wrote a letter to the court in which she stated, "I do not fear for the safety of myself or my children," and neither of them have had charges come out of these incidents.

John Daly, golf player, was married to Sherrie Daly between 2001 and 2007 and in those years he accused her of stabbing him. Even though nothing came of this, Sherrie has a long list of encounters with the law. In 2006, she spent five months in prison for money laundering, being involved with a drug ring, and being part of an illegal gambling operation. According to ESPN, after serving those five months in prison, Sherrie was sentenced to serve another five months under home supervision.

In September 2015, she was once again charged for harassing a woman. But her problems that year didn't end as later she was found breaking into an ex-boyfriend's home and hitting him with a golf club. She was charged with aggravated assault and burglary and violation of an order of protection. However, in 2016 she was met with a $1 million bond for custodial interference and violation of probation after picking up her son from school without any custody rights. This came after in 2014, according to Commercial Appeal, she received a year of probation and community service for her contribution to "delinquency of a minor" after her son missed school 52 times without an explanation.

Tina Eaton is one of those cases that was able to avoid jail time. In 2006, police were called to the house for a domestic disturbance.  At the time, Tina had left her husband, former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Chad Eaton, bleeding from his nose. According to court documents, when the police interrogated them, Tina said she had punched him because she believed he was cheating on her. However, Chad didn't want to press charges and nothing came out of it.

A year later, The Seattle Times reported that the Eatons were once again in a domestic abuse altercation. This time around, it was Chad who was arrested. He ended up at Snohomish County Jail while the police investigated the allegations of fourth-degree assault. Chad was able to make bail at $2,500 and only stayed one night in jail. There were no further charges brought against him after this.

Another former "Basketball Wives" cast member that was charged is Kenya Bell, wife of Charlie Bell. In 2011, when the couple was believed to be separated, Kenya was charged with assault after attacking Charlie at his home with a box cutter. According to CBS News, their two children were present at the time of the attack and the police investigation resulted in charges for assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse. At the time of the arrest, the Genesee County Prosecutor said, "It's a tragic situation. They're entitled to some privacy."

Charlie received minor injuries during the incident and Kenya was out on a $5,000 bond after being in jail for one day. Later, TMZ reported that Kenya was able to avoid further jail time after reaching a plea deal. She ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence. Their divorce was finalized in 2012.