Former NFL player Steve Smith Sr is being sued in North Carolina for allegedly having an affair with a married Baltimore Ravens marching band member.
The band member’s husband, Antonio Martinez, is asking for over $100,000 in damages according to a civil lawsuit that was filed this week at the Mecklenburg County Superior Court.
Martinez is exploring a legal loophole of sorts in North Carolina, which is only one of six states in the United States with the so-called ‘Homewrecker law’, known officially as the ‘alienation of affecation’ law.
It allows a spouse to sue a third party for destroying a marriage.
Back in February, allegations first emerged about the 45-year-old Smith when an account seemingly belonging to Martinez shared a screenshot of an array of text messages appearing to confront Smith. The post has since been deleted.
But according to the lawsuit, Martinez also called Smith over his alleged involvement with his wife.
Steve Smith Sr is being sued for an alleged affair with a man’s wife in North Carolina
Smith, pictured with wife Angie, has not commented publicly yet about the lawsuit
‘You’ve been f***ing my wife, bro,’ the lawsuit claims Martinez said. ‘Whatcha gotta say for yourself?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Smith reportedly responded.
Smith met Martinez’s wife at her job with the Ravens, the lawsuit says. It also says that Martinez has now split from his wife due to her alleged affair.
Ex-NFL player Smith ended his football career with the Baltimore team but spent the majority of his playing days as a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers.
Daily Mail has attempted to contact Smith’s representatives for comment. He posted a seemingly cryptic comment on Instagram on Friday about feeling fear.
‘F.E.A.R has two meanings – Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything and Rise,’ it said.
Smith has been married to his wife Angie since 2000. The pair have four children together: Peyton, Baylee, Boston and Steve Jr.
Smith Sr has regularly spoken about his love for his family, even claiming that the ‘most important thing he did’ in his football career was to ‘make sure that my kids don’t need to play sports in order to attend college’.
He added: ‘They don’t need to run, jump, catch or flip.’
Smith isn’t the first NFL player to be involved in allegations around the little-known law.
A 2017 report from Associated Press says Fletcher Cox, defensive tackle of the Philadelphia Eagles, said that Joshua Jeffords filed a lawsuit for alienation of affectation.
He was seeking $50,000 in damages and said he needed mental health treatment for ‘substantial emotional distress’. They eventually settled out of court.
