Here's Why Andy Reid's Son Is Behind Bars

With three Super Bowl titles and a record-breaking 100 wins with two different teams, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been enjoying the most successful time of his career. But recent years haven't been as kind in his personal life. Andy lost his oldest son, 29-year-old Garrett Reid, to a heroin overdose in August 2012 and more recently saw his second son, Britt Reid, end up behind bars. Before Garrett's death and Britt's imprisonment, the Reid brothers had already shown they were headed down a dangerous path.

In November 2007, Britt received a jail sentence of up to 23 months in addition to probation for selling drugs out of his parent's house, just a week after Garrett was sentenced for causing a car accident while on heroin, ESPN reported. "It sounds more or less like a drug emporium there, with the drugs all over the house, and you're an addict," the judge told Britt. Eight months later, while serving time, Garrett was convicted of attempting to smuggle prescription drugs into the jail.

Just months before his sentencing, Britt was accused of yet another crime. In January 2007, he was charged with gun and drug charges stemming from a road rage episode. Following his brother's death, Britt seemed to get his life under control — only to find himself mired in legal woes again in 2021.

In April 2021, Britt Reid was charged with DWI for his involvement in a car accident that left a 5-year-old girl in critical condition two months earlier. On February 4, 2021, three days before Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, Britt was accused of slamming his truck into two vehicles parked on the shoulder of the highway at a speed well over the limit.

Britt admitted to having between two and three drinks and to taking the ADHD medication Adderall before getting behind the wheel. According to court documents, Britt had been driving with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit. The victim, Ariel Young, suffered serious brain injuries, including a skull fracture, contusion, and hematomas. Young was in a coma, fighting for her life for 11 days, but remained hospitalized for two months, being released 10 days before Britt was charged.

The charge felt like a slap on the wrist to Young's family. "It's been incredibly hard knowing he's out every day living his normal life and Ariel's life is completely changed," Young's cousin, Tiffany Verhulst, told USA Today. "Our whole family's life changed due to him making the decision to drink and drive." In November 2022, Britt was sentenced to three years in prison. Young's family was against striking a plea deal with Britt, who was seeking probation.

At the time of Britt Reid's car accident, he had been the Kansas City Chiefs' outside linebackers assistant for two years. Upon news of the near-fatal wreck, the franchise put Britt on administrative leave, ESPN reported. "We remain in the process of gathering information on the incident, and we will continue to assist local authorities as requested," they said in a statement. The Chiefs later opted not to renew his contract, which had expired at the end of the previous season.

That marked the end of Britt's career, which came right when it was taking off. Two years earlier, he had won Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs under the guidance of his father. Andy Reid had been aiding Britt's professional aspirations since 2009 when he brought him onto the Philadelphia Eagles as a training camp coordinator after he graduated from Temple University. Britt joined Andy's staff at the Chiefs in 2013 as the defensive quality control coach and was later promoted to assistant defensive line coach and then to defensive line coach. 

When Britt pleaded guilty to the DWI charges in September 2022, he included his former employer in his public apologies. "Mr. Reid sincerely apologizes to [Ariel Young] and her family, and to his own family. He also extends his deep apologies to the [Chiefs CEO Clark] Hunt family, the Chiefs organization and Chiefs kingdom," the press release read.