A Florida state judge on Tuesday denied a request from the father of NFL rookie Travis Hunter to modify the father’s criminal sentence, saying it would look like “special treatment” if he allowed this simply because the father’s circumstances changed since his son was picked No. 2 overall in the NFL draft last month.
The father, Travis Hunter Sr., had asked the court to convert his remaining sentence of community control supervision to a less restrictive form of probation so that he can “assist his son with furthering his very promising career with the National Football League,” according to his request in court.
Hunter Sr., 39, is about halfway through the community control portion of his sentence stemming from gun and drug charges, according to his court filing. He received permission from the court to travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in April to attend the NFL draft with his son.
“In this case, he’s not only been successful in community control − he’s completed everything that he had in community control,” Hunter Sr.’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, told the judge. “And what’s so important to me is that his situation has changed.”
“You say that, but what’s going on with his son has not changed the landscape,” Judge Howard Coates said in a public hearing in Palm Beach County that also was viewable online.
In a separate ruling Tuesday, Judge Coates did grant permission for Hunter Sr. to travel to Tennessee this coming weekend to attend Hunter Jr.’s wedding there Saturday. Hunter Jr., the two-way star from Colorado, is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars after winning the Heisman Trophy in December.
The judge just didn’t want to modify Hunter Sr.’s sentence beyond these occasional special trips.
Judge questions ‘special treatment’
The judge noted that Hunter Sr.’s sentence came from a plea deal last year that was agreed to by the state and Hunter Sr. It included 90 days in jail and three years of probation, including one year in community control supervision. Community control in Florida is defined as an intensive supervision program in which defendants are confined to their homes unless they are working or attending approved activities, according to the state.The judge questioned why it should be changed simply because of his son’s success.
“I hear these circumstances have changed, you know, my hat’s off to his son,” the judge said. “I don’t know that changes the father’s situation for me. In fact, it’s given me some concern that you’re almost arguing for special treatment.”
“I’m not, judge, and I’ll tell you why,” Cohen said. “If someone was to win the lottery and someone was to get a new job, if someone was to move to a different neighborhood, all those situational changes aren’t asking for favoritism whatsoever. What I’m saying is his situation has changed in that his son is able to employ him. His son is able to give him stable housing and a stable environment. Those things are not asking for special treatment, judge. Those are simply issues that arose that changed the situational of an individual.”
The judge didn’t buy it. The state prosecutor also objected to the request while Hunter Sr. looked on in court.
“That’s not special treatment; I’m not looking at that,” Cohen said.
“So say you, but probably 99 percent of the public out there that doesn’t have an athlete son who’s incredibly successful, might look at this and say, ‘This sounds like special treatment for the athlete’s father,’” the judge replied.
The Lil Wayne connections to this case
Hunter Sr. is understandably trying to improve his situation through his son’s connections and budding pro football career. He is represented by attorney Bradford Cohen, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who helped secure a gun-charge pardon from President Donald Trump for rapper Lil Wayne in 2021.
Lil Wayne is a friend of Hunter Jr. and Deion Sanders, Hunter Jr.’s coach at Colorado.
Lil Wayne also attended Hunter Jr.’s Heisman Trophy ceremony in December when Hunter Jr. talked about his dad not being there, telling his father he loved him and that “I did it for you, man.”
In another connection, Hunter Jr.’s agent is Adie Van Gontard, who co-founded with Lil Wayne the sports agency that enlists Hunter Jr. as a client.
What happened with Travis Hunter Sr.?
It stems from an incident in Lantana, Florida, in November 2023, when Hunter Sr. was pulled over by police after the officer said he didn’t have “any lights for the tag” on his car, according to the police report. Police identified him as a habitual traffic offender with no driver’s license and subjected him to a search that allegedly found drugs and a backpack with a pistol and loaded magazine, according to court records.
Cohen said there were “issues” with the underlying case against Hunter Sr., implying the plea deal he agreed to was made by prosecutors to move the case along.
Hunter Sr., a former high school sports star in Palm Beach County, ended up being charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon after a prior conviction in 2018 for “sale or possession of heroin with intent to sell.” Hunter Sr. reached a plea deal last year to plead guilty to drug possession and the gun charge, leading to a sentence of 90 days in jail. He got released on Dec. 5, just nine days before the Heisman ceremony in New York.
He also was sentenced to three years of probation, including one year of community control supervision, which was the subject of the hearing Tuesday.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com