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Former Super Bowl champion Derrick Ward was reportedly arrested in relation to several robberies in the Los Angeles area, TMZ Sports reports.
Ward, 43, is accused of robbing multiple businesses, including gas stations, by using force and fear, though not carrying a gun at the time of the alleged incidents, according to law enforcement sources. The retired running back was reportedly booked into jail at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday and remains incarcerated, according to records obtained by TMZ Sports.
Ward was a member of the New York Giants' Super Bowl XLII team, having initially signed with the franchise during his rookie year after being released by the New York Jets days before the regular season. The former Ottawa University standout recorded a career-best 1,025 yards and two touchdowns on 182 rushing attempts in 2008, the season after the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory.
Ward recorded 2,628 yards and 12 touchdowns on 93 rushing attempts, as well as 96 receptions for 787 yards and three touchdowns during his eight-year NFL career, which also included stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009) and Houston Texans (2010-11) before announcing his retirement in July 2012. The former running back had previously been critical of several active NFL players arrested for DUI during the offseason of his retirement in a post shared on his X account.
"There's no excuse to drive drunk! NONE! If all else fails WALK! NFL players are world class athletes Walking should be nothing," Ward wrote at the time.