Zac Stacy and Kristin Evans (via Orange County Corrections Dept. and Instagram screenshot)
Former NFL running back Zac Stacy, 31, will spend half a year behind bars for a pair of vicious attacks on his ex-girlfriend — one of which was caught on tape and quickly went viral. The footage showed the massive professional athlete throwing the victim around her home with brutal force in front of their then-5-month-old son.
On Monday, a judge in Orange County, Florida, ordered Stacy to serve six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief for the attacks on Kristin Evans, both of which took place in 2021, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime. In addition to his incarceration, Stacy was also ordered to serve one year of probation following his release.
The former St. Louis Rams and New York Jets player allegedly fled the state of Florida after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on aggravated domestic violence battery and criminal mischief charges in November 2021, Daytona Beach NBC affiliate WESH reported. He was arrested by police shortly after disembarking from a plane arriving at Orlando International Airport approximately one week later.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the battery charges in exchange for Stacy pleading guilty, according to WESH.
The video of Stacy’s attack on the mother of his child was released by Evans, who at the time said she believed it was the only way to put an end to his abusive behavior.
“This was just the last straw, I would say. I really truly feel that if it continues that he would kill me,” Evans told Orlando Fox affiliate WOFL.
In the clip, Stacy first appeared to punch Evans twice in the head, leaving her slumped helplessly on the couch with her hands raised in a defense-like posture. Stacy then appeared to reach forward and pick her up by her midsection with both hands and in one motion, he appeared to throw the woman across the room like a rag doll and sent her crashing into a flat-screen television, which then fell on top of her.
Evans could be heard repeatedly begging for Stacy to stop. But the former fifth-round draft pick appeared to walk over to where Evans landed and proceeded to violently lift her off the floor only to slam her down into a baby walker that collapsed onto her.
Despite the brutality endured at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Evans on Tuesday said that Stacy had made great strides in improving his behavior, advocating for continued mental health treatment rather than jail time for the sake of their son.
“Jail does not offer resources needed for mental health patients. It is not rehabilitative,”she wrote on Instagram. “I didn’t advocate for jail because the lack of resources, the lack of rehabilitation, the lack of education for mental health, and the psychological effect it may have on our son, having already developed a relationship with his father.”
Evans said she had “no idea how the world worked” when she decided to release the video of Stacy attacking her, but said she was feeling extremely vulnerable and that Stacy had showed “no remorse” at that time. However, she said that he’s since sought cognitive behavioral therapy and has “consistently shown improvement” over the last six months.
“So please give me some grace in understanding that I’m not being easy on Zac, rather I am trying to protect our son from anymore trauma,” she continued. “People who are willing to put in work to be better, deserve an opportunity to show that they can be better. Especially with a diagnosable mental illness and significant head trauma caused by football.”
It is not clear when Stacy is scheduled to begin serving his sentence.
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