CFL player Knox faces some serious charges
Multiple counts of attempted homicide
In a private meeting not that many years ago, Jeffrey Knox Jr. confided to one of his bosses that going home to the Pittsburgh area was no longer good for him.
He wanted a fresh start, somewhere else. He needed that fresh start.
In the very personal meeting, they talked about his troubles at home, the expectations on the football player to provide for those around him, the personal difficulties with some relationships and the mistaken belief that surrounded him, that he was well to do because he played professional football in the Canadian Football League. And like always, there was more to the story.
Jeffrey Knox Jr. didn’t give anybody any trouble when he played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Toronto Argonauts and the Ottawa Redblacks. In Saskatchewan, he was known for the community work that he was involved with, and also known for being an all- star in his first CFL season. He has that kind of talent.
Those who speak about him now say much the same thing. They call him reliable, never a problem, a nice kid to have around.
He was a nice kid who went home, against his own spoken instincts — an apparent nice kid who was arrested in Pittsburgh the other night for two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and for reckless endangerment of another person after a shooting incident in the South Flats area little more than a week ago.
On Oct. 23 just before midnight, police officers responded to a 911 call and found two men with gunshot wounds. At the scene, they also found three shell casings. Detectives later found footage of the shooting from local security cameras. All of this first reported by the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette.
Police were also able to trace the licence plate on the vehicle that sped away from the scene. The licence number apparently is registered to Knox Jr.
Under normal non- pandemic circumstances, Knox Jr. might be getting ready for a playoff game right about now. He had signed back with the Argos after part of a season in Ottawa for what was going to be this CFL season. The way he played at linebacker and more so on special teams he was more than likely to make the Toronto roster.
This could have been the place for his sixth season of Canadian football. But there has been no season for him or anyone else in the CFL.
The Argos learned on Saturday night about the charges against Knox Jr. With a statement sent out Sunday, the Argos indicated that “each member of the organization fully understands the moral expectation and obligation that comes with the privilege of representing the Toronto Argonauts. At the same time, the club respects each person’s right to a fair process.
“In this case the Argos will not determine any potential team- related consequences until the club has conducted all due diligence in this matter.”
Until then, they have nothing else to say.
The football part, the good part of Knox’s life, has been an adventure of city to city and team to team over several years. He first played for Corey Chamblin and the Roughriders in 2015. After two seasons in Saskatchewan, he signed to play in Tampa Bay in 2017. As training camp ended, he was let go by the Buccaneers. The following year, he played again in Saskatchewan, signed again in Tampa, but this time he was released before camp began.
After that, he spent a week with Washington in the NFL and a little more than a week with the Tennessee Titans before ending up in Toronto.
Last summer, he signed to play in Ottawa, was on and off their roster and as a free agent last winter, chose to sign back with the Argos for what was going to be this 2020 CFL season. This is the vagabond life so many football players live. Here a team, there a team. Here a league, there a league. And every once in a while, a name you might know might be in the headlines, or in this case a name you probably don’t know.
Knox Jr. was really never trouble on the field. It was away from it that got him in difficulty. As a freshman at Pitt, he was kicked off the football team before playing so much as a game. Just days into his freshman season, Knox Jr was dismissed from the team and the university after he was charged with assault for allegedly slapping and choking a woman after she told him she was pregnant. Knox was found guilty of simple assault and sentenced to probation, with three other charges dropped related to that case. In and around the Pittsburgh area there had been other problems over the years.
His licence to own a gun in Pennsylvania had expired a year ago.
“I told him ‘ Don’t go home,’ said the voice from his lengthy meeting “I told him ‘Don’t put yourself in an environment that’s not healthy for you.’ He opted to go home.
“God, I wish he hadn’t.”