Kansas City Chiefs Release Isaiah Buggs Following Off-Season Arrest: Report
Buggs was arrested on accusations of animal cruelty last month and then charged with domestic violence last week.
The Kansas City Chiefs are releasing defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs this week after a pair of offseason arrests.
Citing NFL Network Insider. According to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, the back-to-back defending Super Bowl winners are parting ways with the 27-year-old star following his latest arrest last week in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, on charges of domestic abuse and burglary.
Buggs was previously detained on May 29 on misdemeanor animal cruelty allegations, which his agent, Trey Robinson, claims the player “vehemently denies.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to speed on the best of PEOPLE’s content, from celebrity news to interesting human interest topics.
He was arrested when two very starved canines were discovered in the Alabama residence he was renting, according to civil records obtained by Tuscaloosa Patch and 247Sports. The former University of Alabama player was released the following day on a $600 bond.
Weeks later, on June 16, Buggs was freed from Tuscaloosa County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond for domestic violence and burglary charges. However, Pelissero reported that the bond was “revoked after his most recent arrest and he’s currently in jail due to multiple legal cases.”
Buggs is still in Tuscaloosa County Jail, according to data obtained by PEOPLE.
Buggs joined the Chiefs in January 2024, following three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, two with the Detroit Lions, and a brief spell with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Ruston, Louisiana native earned a national championship with Alabama before joining the NFL in 2019.
Following Buggs’ initial arrest, his agent told the NFL Network that the animal abuse allegations were “part of a concerted effort by the City of Tuscaloosa and its Police Department to besmirch Mr. Buggs’ name and reputation,” and that a “ongoing subversive campaign” against Buggs is attempting to force the closure of his hookah lounge in Alabama.
Buggs’ agent said that he was arrested for misdemeanor offenses at King’s Hookah Lounge twice previously, but that “no public record was made of these arrests.”
“Rather, the City used the threat of pushing and publicizing both the allegations filed today and these arrests as leverage against Mr. Buggs by offering to drop and not pursue them in exchange for his voluntary surrender of his business license,” according to the statement from the agent.
Buggs allegedly “declined the City’s offer” due to “serious concerns” about the municipal and police department’s “motivation for deciding to target his business.”
Buggs and his agent have not made any statements in response to his recent arrest for domestic abuse and burglary.
