Laremy Tunsil, who almost certainly will be chosen as a top 10 pick when the NFL draft begins on Thursday, is being sued by his stepfather, who claims the former Ole Miss tackle attacked him without provocation and then defamed him by saying he was merely protecting his mother.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by Lindsay Miller in Lafayette County, Miss., stems from an incident last June in which both Tunsil and Miller filed domestic-violence charges against each other. Tunsil told police that he confronted his stepfather after Miller attacked his mother, Desiree Polingo. Miller told police that Tunsil attacked him after he warned the college football standout about his contact with agents. The two sides dropped their charges in August.
As told by Daniel Paulling of the Clarion-Ledger, Miller is suing Tunsil for “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and is seeking 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).”
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After the scuffle, Miller claims in the lawsuit that Tunsil went to Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze with the allegedly false story that Miller had assaulted his mother knowing that Freeze would repeat his remarks to reporters, which he did. Miller intends to depose Freeze, offensive line coach Matt Luke and Ole Miss assistant athletic director John Miller.
“As a result, Defendant Tunsil’s malicious statements, as repeated by Coach Freeze and others, caused irreparable damage to Mr. Miller’s reputation, the nature and scope of which will be determined at trial,” the lawsuit reads.
Tunsil, who was suspended for the first seven games of the 2015 season for accepting impermissible benefits, is seen as a likely choice of the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 6 pick of the draft, though some think he could go No. 3 to the San Diego Chargers, as well. At one time Tunsil was thought to be a possible No. 1 selection, but that was before the Tennessee Titans traded the top pick to the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns traded the No. 2 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. Both Los Angeles and Philadelphia are likely to select quarterbacks with the top two picks.
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