Former NFL star claims his ex-girlfriend mentally, physically and racially abused him

Albert Haynesworth took to social media Wednesday to tell his side of a relationship apparently gone very wrong. According to the former NFL defensive tackle, who played college football at Tennessee, he was subjected to physical and racial abuse by Brittany Jackson, a former Lady Vols basketball player with whom he had a son.

Over the course of several Twitter posts, Haynesworth accused Jackson of committing fraud, by pocketing proceeds from charity basketball games, and of calling him "n-----" on "numerous occasions." Saying that "she has been extremely violent," he claimed that there were 10 different times when he had to call upon the police "to restrain her."

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, police were called to a home in Southeast Knox County (Tennessee) on Jan. 10 at 1:30 a.m., where Haynesworth said that Jackson had kicked him twice in the groin during an argument. She left before the police arrived, while he declined medical attention and did not file charges.

"Yes I have witnesses and bruises," the 36-year-old Haynesworth said on Twitter, "but . . . for some reason still tried to protect her by not sending her to jail." The former Titan and Redskin added that he "didn't want to ruin her so called career and name," but he went on to allege that "the money you give for [the] Alzheimer event MOST of it goes right in her pocket."

For several years, Jackson, 34, has organized a celebrity basketball game, with the aim of raising funds to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Former Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt, with whom Jackson went to four Final Fours from 2002 to 2005, suffered from the disease before she died in 2016.

Jackson offered no public comment Wednesday on Haynesworth's accusations.

TMZ Sports reported that Haynesworth took his grievances against Jackson public after "she accused him of skipping out on child support for their young son." He said Wednesday that the child "is the greatest thing to happen in those 2+ years" he spent with Jackson.

"Being a man I am a provider and protecter [sic]," Haynesworth wrote, "I have millions of faults that are not flattering but NO ONE deserves to be mentally and physically abuse[d]!!!"

Listed in his NFL days at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds, Haynesworth played for the Vols from 1999 to 2001 before the Titans made him the 15th overall pick in the 2002 draft. The two-time all-pro hit free agency the following year and signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins that included a record $41 million in guarantees.

Haynesworth, who as a Titan earned a five-game suspension for stomping on the head of an opponent, had a turbulent tenure in Washington, including clashes with coaches and widespread criticism for apathetic behavior. He was traded to the Patriots in 2011 for a fifth-round draft pick, but was waived by both New England and Tampa Bay, and his career ended after that season.

Also in 2011, Haynesworth was charged with simple assault for a road rage incident in Reston, Virginia. He was accused of getting out of his car and punching the face another driver who had made a "nonverbal hand gesture" in his direction; the charge was later dropped in a settlement.

Later that year, Haynesworth pleaded no contest to charges that he sexually assaulted a cocktail waitress at a Washington hotel. He averted a trial by agreeing to undergo alcohol-abuse and psychological-social assessments and to perform 160 hours of community service.

Jackson pleaded guilty to simple assault in 2010, after she and her younger sister got into a fight on the campus of Tennessee Wesleyan College. Shortly after that, Jackson was charged with several offenses, including DUI, after driving her car into the back of another car stopped at a traffic light.

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Former NFL star claims his ex-girlfriend mentally, physically and racially abused him."