Last Updated on August 18, 2022
Witnesses say that NFL broadcaster and former all-pro NFL player Aqib Talib started the conflict that led to his brother shooting dead a youth football coach on the field and in front of his 9-year-old son.
Yaqub Talib, the brother of Fox Sports analyst and Prime NFL broadcaster Aqib Talib, has been charged with murder in the shooting death of youth football coach Mike Hickmon. Hickmon, the coach of the DEA Dragons and himself a former Division 1 player, was shot dead on the field in front of his 9-year-old son after a brawl started between him and multiple other men, including both the Talib brothers, according to witness statements and video evidence.
Read More: Youth Football Coach Shot Dead on Field in Front of 9-Year-Old Son by Brother of NFL Broadcaster, Former Player
Yaqub Talib shot Hickmon multiple times during the caught-on-video fight at the youth football scrimmage, though witnesses are reporting that it was Aqib Talib, the former all-pro NFL player and Super Bowl champion who has had numerous run-ins with the law, who started the fatal altercation. According to police statements and local media reports, Yaqub and Aqib Talib were at the scrimmage coaching a team of their own, the North Dallas United Bobcats.
“[Aqib Talib] ran across the field and got on our sideline, got in the referee’s face,” one of Hickmon’s fellow DEA Dragons coaches told local reporters. “He’s the one that threw the first punch,” the coach went on to say.
In video footage of the fight, Aqib Talib can be observed throwing punches at coach Mike Hickmon in the seconds preceding his brother pulling out a gun and firing multiple shots into the coach, killing him on the field.
In a statement released by his lawyers, Aqib Talib was described as “very distraught and devastated” over the situation, which was described as an “unfortunate tragedy,” though no mention of his central involvement in the altercation was made.
“Aqib Talib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life. He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy.”
At this time, Aqib Talib does not face any criminal charges in the lethal melee, and it is unclear if he is the target of any further police investigation into the situation. His brother Yaqub’s attorney has claimed that there is a self-defense angle to the shooting, though there has been no elaboration or obvious video evidence as to what that angle would be.
