Back in November, word surfaced that Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith called the police to his house after two of his siblings showed up there to “harass and torment” him as part of an extended effort to get money from Smith.
That was followed by Smith’s lawyer revealing that Smith was missing more than $1 million and blamed his family for taking it, something Smith’s mother denied as part of a nasty little episode that threw back the curtain on the tackle’s private life. Smith never talked about it during the season, but he’s now opened up to the Dallas Morning News about the ordeal.
Smith said that the money went missing while he was using a financial adviser his parents recommended to him before the draft, leaving him “betrayed” because he had agreed to give them a “substantial” amount of money in four installments. According to Smith, the push for more money kept coming and increased when he let the family know that he’d be moving to left tackle.
“They were already looking forward to the next contract, talking about things they wanted to get already,” Smith said. “I was like I haven’t even got there and there’s not even a sure thing that I will. And that was all that was coming out of their mouth.”
Rams rookie wide receiver Tavon Austin recently talked about how he has cousins coming out of the woodwork since he was drafted in the first round. Austin appeared to be taking a joking tone about things, but Smith’s situation is a reminder that these things don’t always wind up as laughing matters. Smith himself offered some advice that Austin and other professional athletes should probably take to heart.
“The takeaway from this is don’t let people take advantage of you. And it’s all right to say no to certain people,” Smith said.