The brother of retired NFL cornerback Aqib Talib has pleaded guilty to murder in the 2022 shooting death of a coach at a youth football game in Texas, prosecutors said.
Yaqub Salik Talib, 40, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of shooting 43-year-old Michael Hickmon, according to Claire Crouch, a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney’s office.
She said Talib accepted a 37-year prison sentence and will be sentenced in August.
A lawyer for Talib did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on Friday.
Aqib was sued for $1 million by Hickmon’s family, who say he incited the altercation.
Yaqub Talib, the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, pleaded guilty to murder in Texas
Aqib (above) is being sued by the victim’s family, as they allege Aqib started a fight.
That fight led to the shooting death of football coach Mike Hickmon, 43, in August 2022.
Last August, police said witnesses saw Yaqub draw a gun and shoot Hickmon repeatedly during a fight between adults at a youth soccer game in the Dallas suburb of Lancaster.
Police said the fight was sparked by a disagreement between opposing coaching staffs over calls made by the refereeing team, but an official from one of the teams later said it started when Hickmon went to pick up a soccer ball and someone kicked it.
As described in the lawsuit, and corroborated by witness testimony before police, tensions ran high between Dragons Elite Academy, Hickmon’s team, and the North Dallas United Bobcats, which was coached by the Talib brothers.
A late taunting penalty against the Bobcats gave the Dragons an unexpected first down, leading to a touchdown on the next play, reportedly causing the Talib brothers to become verbally and physically abusive.
The officials decided to end the game, after which Hickmon was allegedly confronted by Aqib, who threw a punch at the opposing coach.
Hickmon is said to have walked away from Aqib, which is when Yuqub allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Hickmon several times.
Hickmon, who is said to have been unarmed, was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Yaqub Talib left the camp after the shooting and later turned himself in to the police. His attorney said at the time that his client “mourns the tragic loss of life,” but he was giving up “for the chance to tell his side of the story.”
Hickmon’s family is seeking $1 million from the Talib brothers, as well as other defendants: The Big XII Youth Sports League, which operates the local youth soccer circuit, and Realford Consulting LLC, which co-owns the league.
Aqib (R) had a gig with Fox & Thursday Night Football in 2022 but stepped back after the fight.
The lawsuit claims that the “Talib brothers are no strangers to gun violence, and their histories of criminal activity and violent behavior are well documented.”
Yaqub, for example, was on probation at the time of the shooting and was not legally allowed to carry a firearm.
‘Despite these facts, the defendants permitted and approved the defendants Talib to train and participate in managing teams in the Big XII League. Defendants’ decisions and failures directly and proximately caused the death of Michael Hickmon and the serious, and likely permanent, injuries his family will have to live with for the rest of their lives,” the lawsuit reads.
Aqib, who was drafted out of Kansas in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, had a successful career spanning 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins.
Not only did he win a Super Bowl with the Broncos in February 2016, but he finished his career with 35 interceptions and five Pro Bowl selections.
He earned $55 million in salary during his NFL career, according to Spotrac, and had a broadcast job with Fox Sports until he quit after the shooting.
