**Former NFL Player Isaiah Buggs Sentenced to Hard Labor for Animal Cruelty**
Isaiah Buggs, a former defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, has been convicted of two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and sentenced to a year of hard labor.
Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik handed down the sentence on July 19, ordering Buggs to serve 60 days, with the remainder suspended for two years pending good behavior.
As part of his sentence, Buggs is prohibited from owning or being around dogs or cats, and is not allowed to possess firearms.
The Super Bowl champions released Buggs on June 24, just eight days after his second recent arrest in Alabama. He was arrested on a charge of domestic violence/burglary and released on a $5,000 bond, according to records from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Buggs was arrested earlier in June after being accused of dragging the mother of his child down a set of steps and inflicting injury.
Isaiah Buggs was sentenced to a year of hard labor after being convicted of animal cruelty
The 27-year-old was arrested on a charge of domestic violence/burglary after allegedly breaking into the mother of his child’s home with a tire iron. He was accused of dragging her down the stairs, causing her to break off several clip-on toenails and leaving scratches on her wrist.
Buggs was also accused of leaving two dogs on the back porch of his home near Alabama’s campus grounds. According to legal documents, Tuscaloosa Police and Animal Control officers found a pitbull surrounded by feces and with no access to food or water, and a black rottweiler mix locked in a metal cage in direct sunlight without access to food or water.
The Chiefs cut the former University of Alabama star on June 24 following his second arrest
Buggs turned himself in on May 30 after being charged with two misdemeanor counts of second-degree animal cruelty.
The former University of Alabama star played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers before spending the past two with the Detroit Lions. He started 23 games and appeared in 56 in his career, with 89 tackles and two sacks. He had signed a $1,292,500 contract with Kansas City for the upcoming season.