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6 hours ago
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A Florida judge has denied a request by Travis Hunter's father to lighten the community control supervision portion of a criminal sentence for gun and drug possession charges while declaring that it appeared that he was seeking "special treatment" because his son is a football star.
Travis Hunter Sr. is the father of the Jacksonville Jaguars rookie. Per a police report cited by USA Today, Hunter Sr., 39, was pulled over for not having "any lights for the tag" on his car in Lantana, Florida in November 2023.
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Police say they found drugs, a pistol and a loaded magazine upon searching Hunter Sr.'s car, per USA Today. Per the report, police say that they engaged in the search after identifying Hunter Sr. as a habitual traffic offender who was driving without a license.
Hunter Sr. pleaded guilty to drug possession and a drug charge after being charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He was previously convicted in 2018 for sale or possession of heroin with intent to sell, per USA Today.
Hunter Sr. was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation, including one year in community control supervision via a plea deal. He's currently serving the community control supervision portion of his sentence in Florida, which confines him to his home unless he's working or attending an activity approved by the state.
Hunter Jr. is a two-way football star who won the Heisman Trophy at Colorado last season and is now a member of the the Jaguars, who selected him with the No. 2 pick in April's NFL Draft.
Hunter Sr.'s argument for a lightened sentence
Hunter Sr.'s lawyer, Bradford Cohen argued before Judge Howard Coates in a Palm Beach County Court on Tuesday that Hunter Sr.'s circumstances had changed in that his son was able to employ him. Cohen requested a less restrictive sentence for Hunter Sr. so that he could “assist his son with furthering his very promising career with the National Football League."
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Per USA Today, Coates responded to Cohen that it appeared that he was seeking special treatment for his client because of his son's status.
“I hear these circumstances have changed, you know, my hat’s off to his son,” Coates said. “I don’t know that changes the father’s situation for me. In fact, it’s given me some concern that you’re almost arguing for special treatment.”
Cohen declared that he was not seeking special treatment.
“I’m not, judge, and I’ll tell you why,” Cohen said. “If someone was to win the lottery and someone was to get a new job, if someone was to move to a different neighborhood, all those situational changes aren’t asking for favoritism whatsoever.
"What I’m saying is his situation has changed in that his son is able to employ him. His son is able to give him stable housing and a stable environment. Those things are not asking for special treatment, judge. Those are simply issues that arose that changed the situational of an individual.”
Coates denied the request while continuing to declare that Cohen was arguing for special treatment.
“So say you, but probably 99 percent of the public out there that doesn’t have an athlete son who’s incredibly successful, might look at this and say, 'This sounds like special treatment for the athlete’s father,'" Coates said.
Hunter Sr. was released from the jail portion of his sentence on Dec. 5, nine days before Hunter Jr. was named the Heisman Trophy winner at a ceremony in New York. Hunter Sr. was not permitted to attend the ceremony while serving the beginning of his community control supervision sentence.
A court did permit Hunter Sr. to attend the NFL Draft in Green Bay Wisconsin, where the Jaguars traded up with the Cleveland Browns to select Hunter Jr. with the No. 2 pick. On Tuesday, Coates granted Hunter Sr. permission to travel to Tennessee to attend Hunter Jr.'s wedding on Saturday.
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