Cowboys cornerback Marquez White is facing a felony charge stemming from an incident that happened during the 2017 season.
White was charged with second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by the Collin County District Attorney's Office on June 7. White said in a statement provided to the Dothan Eagle in Alabama that he drew a weapon after feeling threatened during a road rage incident. District attorney's office records show the incident occurred on Oct. 20.
White's attorney, Toby Shook, said his client has a concealed weapons permit that was issued in Florida. He said White displayed the weapon but "did not point the gun" at the other individual involved.
White, 23, attempted to explain what happened on Oct. 20 in a statement obtained by NFL.com from White's agent, Peter Schaffer:
"On the day of October 20th, 2017 I was involved in a road rage incident in which my life was threatened and resulted in me having to draw my weapon. I was getting off of highway 121 onto the access road near Tennyson Parkway in Plano, TX where I was met by an aggressive driver. I was trying to get over to avoid running into the wall where the lanes merge, but he then increased speed forcing me to make the decision to either run into the wall or cut him off.
"I eventually made my way in front of him and he proceeded to ride very closely and aggressively on my tail. I hit the brakes to get him off of me and could then see him becoming very angry in my rear view mirror. He then sped up again and I hit my brakes again and after this time he pulled over to my driver side while still driving and proceeded to yell racial slurs such as the "N" word while also threatening to kill me. Simultaneously while doing this he began to reach towards his glove box and that is when I flashed my weapon. He then hit the brakes, got behind me, and proceeded to follow me to my house. Upon arriving at my house I exited my car and went into my home as he sat outside and contacted the authorities.
"When the police got there I came downstairs on my own and gave them my side of the story. He admitted to tailing me and pulling to my driver side, but denied any of the things he said. They retrieved my weapon from my home for evidence and NO arrest was made that day. On June 14th, 2018 during practice I received a notice from the team that there was a felony warrant issued for my arrest for the October 20th incident.
"There were about 5 officers on the scene, but two weeks later a female officer contacted me from her personal phone number asking for me to come in to answer a few more questions. I initially agreed to come in, but I postponed this meeting after being advised to not speak without a lawyer present. She assured me that no lawyer was needed, but I was still not comfortable speaking without one present.
"I was informed that multiple letters were sent to my old address in Tallahassee, FL and that attempts were made to contact me, however I changed my number during the season. Me and my legal team believe strongly that this a personal attack on my image as well as the Star."
The Cowboys declined to comment on the matter when contacted.
White, a Florida State product, was drafted by the Cowboys in the sixth round (No. 216 overall) of the 2017 draft and has yet to appear in a game with the team.
