Former NFL linebacker Adarius Taylor was arrested along with more than 250 people in a human-trafficking bust in Florida, authorities said.
Taylor, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons and several other teams for short stints during his NFL career, was arrested in Polk County, Florida, in what officials dubbed “Operation Fool Around and Find Out,” according to the New York Post.
The former player was arrested for traveling to the sting site under the expectation that he was going to engage with a prostitute. He was charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution. But that wasn’t the extent of his alleged violations.
Taylor, 34, also apparently brought his own six-year-old son to the sting site and left her in the car when he entered.
Video of Ex-NFL LB Adarius Taylor Meeting Up With a Hooker After Leaving His 6-Year-Old Son in The Car While He Finished The Deed; One Issue, The Hooker Was a Cop https://t.co/1lL39FGSIP pic.twitter.com/GQtuDTUNkg
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) May 17, 2025
The boy was immediately taken into custody, and the former player was also charged with felony negligent child abuse without bodily harm.
“Obviously, he must have hit one too many people as a linebacker, because his brain cells are scrambled,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said of Taylor’s abusive treatment of his son.
Taylor was released on a $6,000 bond.
Sheriff Judd reported that 255 people were arrested between May 2 and May 10 during the sting, 36 of whom were illegal aliens.
Four people were also arrested and charged with human trafficking offenses, prosecutors said.
Taylor played for the Carolina Panthers for a season in 2014 before playing with the Bucs from 2015 to 2018. He then played for one season each with the Browns, the Panthers, and the Calgary Stampeders.
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