A long-time sportswriter and key member of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s recruiting effort has been arrested in a wide-ranging human-trafficking sting for allegedly soliciting a prostitute.
One of 15 individuals arrested on Thursday in Shelby County, Alabama, Robert Aaron Suttles is accused of paying $100 for sexual activity according to court records. He has since posted a $1,000 bond and has been released from jail.
Suttles is not a University of Alabama employee, but the 49-year-old was the Director of Content for Yea Alabama — the official University-approved name, image and likeness (NIL) entity for Alabama Athletics.
A Yea Alabama spokesperson has since informed The Daily Mail that Suttles is suspended from the organization.
‘The individual is suspended and is not performing any work for us,’ read the statement from Yea Alabama. ‘The matter involves personal conduct unconnected to any Yea Alabama business. A legal proceeding is pending and our internal review is ongoing, so we have no further comment.’
Details of the allegations against Suttles have not been revealed. The Daily Mail has reached out to Shelby County (Alabama) Sheriff’s Office staff for more information. Neither Suttles nor an Alabama Athletics spokesman immediately returned The Daily Mail’s requests for comment on Saturday morning.
One of 15 individuals arrested on Thursday in Shelby County, Alabama, Robert Aaron Suttles is accused of paying $100 for sexual activity according to court records
The Crimson Tide open their season at home against East Carolina on September 5
‘We will not tolerate the victimization of vulnerable women here in Shelby County,’ Shelby County Drug Task Force Lieutenant Clayton Smith said in a statement. ‘I believe that no woman wakes up each morning and chooses to sell their bodies because they just want to. There is always an underlying reason that they feel they have to do this to live and have no other option.
‘We have a duty to protect them just like any other citizen. I want to thank the investigators for their passion and work in this operation.’
Suttles has been a fixture around Alabama sports and SEC football for years.
In fact, the award-winning journalist is an Alabama grad who went on to cover Crimson Tide sports for the Tuscaloosa News and The Athletic before moving on to Yea Alabama.
Suttles’ social media history has come under scrutiny since his arrest, including this post
According to its website, which is described as an engagement site for fans, Yea Alabama raises money for Crimson Tide student athletes through subscription fees.
‘Yea Alabama is The Official Fan Experience of Alabama Athletics and facilitates authentic name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for Alabama student-athletes,’ read a site description.
Suttles’ social media history has come under scrutiny since his arrest, including one 10-year-old post in which he joked about choking a prostitute.
The Tide open their season at home against East Carolina on September 5.
