Ex–Ohio State Star Terrelle Pryor Arrested, Charged With Simple Assault

Former NFL player and Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was arrested Wednesday in Pennsylvania on a simple assault charge.

Former NFL player and Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was arrested Wednesday morning in Pennsylvania on a simple assault charge after Pryor allegedly struck a woman and damaged her car following an argument, according to a criminal complaint.

Pryor was also charged with harassment and criminal mischief, according to the complaint.

According to the police affidavit obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, authorities were called to Pryor's house around 1 a.m. after he and Shalaya Briston had both returned from different bars. 

While out, the two got into an argument through text messages, the criminal complaint says, with Pryor calling her cellphone 50 times and leaving 30 unanswered messages.

Briston told police that when she returned to Pryor's home in Penn Township, Pa., she laid down on the furniture on the back deck because she was afraid to enter his house. 

Eventually, per the affidavit, he came out on the deck and shoved her. He “struck her in the head and face area with an open hand causing an injury to her left eye,” the complaint reads, with police saying they observed inflammation, redness and bruising under her eye.

Pryor later threw a deck chair at her, the complaint says, and after she entered her car, he threw pumpkins at her, damaging the windshield. 

Pryor denied to police about hitting Briston, according to the affidavit, but admitted to throwing the pumpkins at the vehicle. 

Last year, both Pryor and Briston, who was his girlfriend at the time—it is unclear whether they are still dating—pleaded guilty to charges related to a stabbing incident. Briston pleaded guilty to simple assault after Pryor was stabbed while he pleaded guilty to harassment.

Pryor starred at Ohio State between 2008 and '10, finishing his career as the all-time school record holder for rushing yards by a quarterback, with 2,164. 

He went on to play seven seasons in the NFL as both a quarterback and receiver. He has not appeared in a game since 2018, when he was a member of the Bills and Jets.