AEGiS-AP: Report: CFL Player Is HIV Positive

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Report: CFL Player Is HIV Positive

Associated Press - November 15, 2005

NEW YORK, - Police disclosed that a Canadian Football League player is HIV positive after he was charged with sexual assault, saying they thought a public health warning about his health status was necessary.

Trevis Smith, a linebacker on the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was arrested Oct. 28 in Regina, Saskatchewan, and charged with aggravated sexual assault.

Smith was freed on bail and ordered by a judge Nov. 2 to practice safe sex, tell all future partners that he's HIV positive and surrender his passport, according to a story in Tuesday editions of The New York Times.

An unidentified woman said in court documents that Smith assaulted her between November of 2003 and last May, Constable Marc Searle told the newspaper. Under Canada's criminal code, aggravated sexual assault means a victim has been wounded, maimed, disfigured or had his or her life endangered.

Smith, 29, denies the charges and will plead not guilty, said his lawyer, Paul Harasen, after a hearing in Surrey, British Columbia.

Smith, who played for the University of Alabama, is married and has two children.

After his arrest, Smith was placed on the Roughriders' disabled list and hasn't played since. The team's season ended with a loss to Montreal in the playoffs on Sunday.

Smith has been a member of the Roughriders for the past seven seasons. The Times reported that team officials knew he was HIV positive for more than a year, but privacy laws prevented other players from being told.

The league declined to comment on Smith's situation, the Times reported.

051115
AP051130

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2005. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .