Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith is in an ugly fight with his own family, and his attorney says more than $1 million of his money can’t be accounted for.
People love to say women and gold diggers are what make ballers go broke. In my opinion, family can do it faster than anybody.
Smith was the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft and signed a four year, $12.5 million contract with the Cowboys. He was the youngest player in the NFL last season. His attorney, John Schorsch, says Smith gave his family a substantial amount of money after he was drafted, but they kept coming back for more.
It came to a head this week. Smith called 911 after relatives, including two of his sisters, showed up at his North Dallas home. In the words of the police report, they came to “harass and torment” him “in the pursuit of collecting financial gain.”
This wasn’t the first time. Over the summer, Smith filed protective orders against his mother, Frankie Pinkney, and his stepfather, Roy Pinkney, which also bar them from contacting him through his siblings. A family member reportedly had to be removed from the Cowboys’ training camp facility. “Lesser means were tried and they weren’t successful,” Schorsch said. He claims the mother and stepfather threatened Smith’s physical safety and his girlfriend’s life.
Schorsch also says money is missing. A forensic accountant is going through Smith’s finances, and Schorsch believes the total could reach seven figures. He says legal action is likely.
Smith’s mother tells a different story. “I don’t know anything about any missing money,” Frankie Pinkney told the Dallas Morning News. She says everything the family received from her son was authorized and documented. She also says the falling out had nothing to do with money. She blames Smith’s girlfriend, Leigh Costa, who she says is five years older than her son. According to Pinkney, her daughters only went to the house because they hadn’t seen their brother in months.
Smith hasn’t commented publicly.
Whatever the truth turns out to be, this is the side of the NFL money nobody warns these young players about. Sometimes the people closest to you are the hardest ones to say no to.
Update: When Smith finally spoke about it months later, he told the Dallas Morning News he had agreed to give his family a certain amount, but it went far beyond that. He said money went missing while he was working with a financial advisor his parents had recommended before the draft, but that he didn’t know where it went. Nothing has gone missing since he switched advisors, and he said he’s open to reconciling with his family someday.
