The goal of an NFL safety is to remain stealthy. Read the quarterback's eyes, predict where he's going with the ball and react based on that assumption. Former Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas has made a living doing this, and he'll probably end up in Canton one day because of it.
The former Texas Longhorns star and first-round NFL Draft pick emerged as one of the top free safeties in football over the last decade, winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 as a key part of that vaunted "Legion of Boom" defense. Thomas then manned center field for the Ravens after signing a four-year deal with the club in 2019 but has made headlines for what he's done off the field.
Indeed, Thomas has recorded 30 interceptions over his 10-year career but wasn't able to intercept his wife from catching him naked in bed with other women. Oh, and his brother Seth Thomas.
But just who is Earl Thomas' wife and what happened on that strange day she reportedly walked in on her husband?
Earl's Alleged Cheating Scandal
Earl Thomas III, the same Earl Thomas who won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks and once flipped off his team's sideline, was caught in bed with other women and his brother...naked. What they were doing isn't described but that's probably for the best.
Nina Thomas, Earl's wife, walked in on the group with her friends on April 13 and put a gun to Earl's head. She then pointed the 9mm Beretta pistol at the girls the Thomas brothers were with and reportedly said, "I got something for all you hoes!" according to court documents obtained by TMZ Sports.
According to the TMZ report, Nina tracked her seven-time Pro Bowl hubby down by logging into his Snapchat account. She found him and his brother at an Airbnb rental home in Austin, Texas, and that's when she pulled out his loaded gun.
The Austin Police Department in Travis County said there's cell phone video of the altercation but that hasn't surfaced just yet. Earl took to social media to address the crazy story.
"I just wanted to get ahead of it. It's really not anybody's business," the NFL star said of being held at gunpoint by his wife. "It pisses me off that it got out, but it's the world we live in today. But instead of talking about us, just keep us in y'all prayers. Stuff like this happens bro. We try to live the best lives we possibly can. Sometimes it don't go as planned."
Earl wasn't arrested, but Nina and two others were arrested. Nina was charged on suspicion of burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — family violence, according to the police report. She was bailed out but issued a protective order to stay away from Earl and the alleged mistress.
Who is Earl Thomas' Wife Nina Thomas?
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So, who is the woman (allegedly) behind the gun in the incident?
Nina Thomas is from New Orleans. She moved to Orange, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina devastated her family's city in 2005.
Nina and Earl met as juniors at West Orange-Stark High School, where Earl rose to stardom as a four-sport star athlete in football, basketball, baseball and track. When he went to school at the University of Texas, she attended a community college in Austin.
"I always say that one of the most distressed times in my life ended up placing me exactly where I was supposed to be," Nina told Wags Redefined. "For that reason, I am thankful for Katrina, in a way."
What's interesting is that another major storm, Hurricane Rita, displaced Thomas and his family after it ravaged Orange, Texas, in 2005. They stayed in a hotel and then moved into a mobile home until Thomas blossomed into an NFL player and could buy his parents a new home, according to BaltimoreRavens.com.
Earl's Proposal and Wedding
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Though the two had been seeing each other for years and already had kids together, Earl didn't pop the question to Nina until 2015.
He proposed in 2015 at his youth football camp in Orange, a free clinic that hundreds of kids show up to each summer. They wedded the following year in Houston, where former Seahawks teammate Kam Chancellor was one of Earl's groomsmen.
Nina told Wags Redefined that being married to a NFL player definitely has its challenges.
"The biggest challenge is stability," she said. "During offseason it's great because we're traveling and get to do all these amazing things and see so many new places but it gets to a point where you get a little tired of living out of a suitcase."
Earl & Nina Have 3 Children
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Earl and Nina have been together for more than 13 years and have three children together.
One of them, 7-year-old daughter Kaleigh, accompanied her dad to the Pro Bowl last season and showed off her prowess as a sports reporter. She asked Russell Wilson why he loves football and Drew Brees who his best friend in the league is.
Nina admits that being a stay-at-home mom is tougher than most people realize, especially when you're married to an athlete.
"Dating an athlete is a job in and of itself," she told Wags Redefined. "We have to be a counselor, we have to keep a home and cook and raise our children. People see these reality shows and get the wrong picture of our lives and what we do behind the scenes. My husband and I live an amazing life but it comes with its own share of struggles."
That it does. Hopefully, the two are able to work past their, uh, incident.
This article was originally published May 7, 2020.
