National Football League

Report: Top-5 draft prospect Laremy Tunsil is being sued by his stepfather

Published Apr. 27, 2016 12:03 p.m. ET

Dan Graf

Former Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, a presumptive top-five pick in Thursday’s start of the NFL Draft, is being sued by his stepfather.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in Mississippi on behalf of Lindsey Miller alleges that Tunsil attacked Miller last June and that Tunsil defamed Miller’s character, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. The suit says those two things were “an intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Tunsil was arrested after the incident last June, and he and Miller pressed charges against each other at the time. Tunsil alleged he attacked Miller only after Miller attacked Tunsil’s mother, but Miller said the attack was unprovoked. Tunsil pleaded not guilty, and both sides dropped the charges.

Miller, however, is revisiting the incident, which the lawsuit alleges started with a heated conversation about Tunsil’s relationship with agents.

Miller’s new lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, pre- and post-judgment interest and all costs associated with the suit because of “past, present, and future bodily injury, pain & suffering, severe emotional distress, medical costs, damage to reputation, and/or other types of damages that he has incurred (and will likely continue to incur).”

Tunsil, 21, is in the top five of most mock drafts and was in the discussion as the No. 1 overall pick before the Titans traded that spot to the Rams, who moved up to get a quarterback. He sat out the first seven games of last season, his junior year, while serving a suspension for accepting impermissible benefits, but at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds he is considered a prototypical left tackle.
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