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Former Commanders cornerback Fred Smoot arrested in Virginia

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle08/11/23

NikkiChavanelle

Fred Smoot
Spruce Derden/USA TODAY Sports

Law enforcement in Loudoun County, Virginia, arrested former NFL cornerback Fred Smoot on Thursday morning, according to TMZ Sports. Jail records show that Smoot is still in custody as of Friday morning on a charge of misdemeanor failure to comply with support obligation.

According to Virginia state law, the misdemeanor suggests the former Washington Commanders star “failed to perform or comply with a court order concerning the custody and visitation of a child, or a court or administrative order concerning the support and maintenance of a child, or a court order concerning the support and maintenance of a spouse.”

His arrest on Thursday morning was not the first time the Mississippi State alum has found himself behind bars. In 2019, cops arrested Smoot for failure to appear in court over traffic violations.

Smoot arrest in Loudoun County

In November of 2014, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on a domestic abuse charge against his former girlfriend, Valerie Jackson. The county cleared all charges two months later on January 6, 2015.

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He was also involved in the infamous “Love Boat” scandal when he was with the Minnesota Vikings in 2005. Smoot was one of nearly 100 people, which included 16 other Vikings players, on two boats on Lake Minnetonka where lewd sex acts occurred with a number of prostitutes flown in from Georgia and Florida.

Smoot ended up pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and being a public nuisance on a watercraft in connection with the boat scandal.

Smoot entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick in 2001 out of Mississippi State. The Redskins snapped him up and he’d play four seasons with them before going to Minnesota. He returned to the Redskins for three more seasons from 2007-10. His last deal with Washington was for five years, $25 million.

Over the course of 129 games, Smoot racked up 4500 tackles with 21 interceptions.