Marek Warszawski: Even with 4.21 speed, Xavier Worthy can't outrun a tarnished reputation

Marek Warszawski, The Fresno Bee on Mar 29, 2025

Published in Football

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FRESNO, Calif. — Based solely on 40-yard dash times, Xavier Worthy ranks as the NFL’s fastest player. But even someone with his speed can’t outrun the magnifying glass placed over the personal lives of professional athletes.

Especially when things turn messy and are packed with sordid details.

Worthy’s first touch as a Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick produced a touchdown. In Super Bowl LIX, he provided the silver lining in a dispiriting 40-22 loss by setting the rookie record for receiving yards (157) and scoring two touchdowns.

Over the last three weeks, unfortunately, the media’s attention shifted from the Fresno native’s football prowess to his evidently volatile personal life following dueling accusations and legal moves between Worthy and Tia Jones, his former fiancée.

The cycle of sensational headlines began March 8 when Worthy was arrested in Williamson County, Texas, where he and Jones lived while he played college football for the Texas Longhorns, on a criminal charge of assault against a family or household member by impeding their breathing or circulation.

Hours later, those charges were dismissed with the district attorney declining to pursue them after interviewing witnesses. In response to the court’s action, Jones filed for a protective order against Worthy for serial abuse.

Worthy steered control of the narrative Monday by filing a lawsuit against Jones that accuses her of assault as well as stealing and destroying more than $150,000 worth of his cash and property.

In the lawsuit, Worthy claims he asked Jones in February to move out of a home he purchased after discovering she had become “unfaithful.”

“Rather than leave and separate amicably,” the lawsuit says, “Defendant Jones became enraged and engaged in a series of abusive, extortive efforts against Plaintiff.”

Jones allegedly assaulted Worthy by “scratching his face and ripping parts of his hair out” and retaliated by “destroying” his game room. (The filing included alleged photo evidence of both.) And while Worthy was in jail on the assault charge, the lawsuit states Jones stole a handgun, $30,000 in cash, jewelry and other belongings including a key to his Rolls Royce.

In addition to seeking between $250,000 and $1 million in damages, Worthy filed for a protective order against Jones.

Messy breakups get clicks

The messy breakup of an NFL receiver and his athlete fiancée (Jones competes internationally in track and field) is catnip to media outlets and their eager-clicking audiences. And in situations like this, the coverage expands beyond the usual sports sites chiefly concerned about whether Worthy might miss games due to a league suspension and into the celebrity gossip realm.

When TMZ is breaking stories about your personal life, it’s seldom a good thing.

How quickly Worthy has gone from being portrayed as a serial domestic abuser (complete with booking mugshot) to a serial victim of domestic abuse, depending on who is telling the story. Whether either label is fair or accurate is unknowable from the outside. Regardless, it’s another reminder not to convict anyone in the court of public opinion based on incomplete facts and biased allegations.

Those of us who’ve watched Worthy blossom from adolescent speed demon to Patrick Mahomes’ big-play threat are naturally a little biased. The Central High product does not have a history of abuse against women. In fact it’s somewhat the opposite. Raised by a strong single mother (Nicky Jones) and an older brother to two sisters, Worthy’s reputation is more mama’s boy than thug.

None of that has any relevance to what took place between Worthy and Tia Jones, who announced their engagement last July and moved in together that same month. All we know is what can be gleaned from headlines and court filings.

Professional athletes, because of their level of fame, are vulnerable to having their reputations tarnished by unproven allegations. Oftentimes, however, those allegations prove true and the initial reaction is entirely justified.

The bottom line is each situation is different, and there should never be a rush to judgment until all the facts have been laid out. This is one time where speed is not of the essence.