The New York Times - November 15, 2005
Rick Westhead

Trevis Smith, a former University of Alabama linebacker who has played the past seven seasons with the C.F.L.'s Saskatchewan Roughriders, was arrested Oct. 28 in Regina, Saskatchewan, and charged with aggravated sexual assault.

In an unusual twist, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police disclosed that Smith was H.I.V. positive because it said it felt that a public warning about Smith's health status was necessary. Also, Roughriders officials admitted that they had known that Smith was H.I.V. positive for more than a year but allowed him to continue playing. The team has said privacy laws prevented other players from being informed about Smith's illness.

Constable Marc Searle said in a telephone interview that a complainant identified in court documents as only "A. O." claimed that the 29-year-old Smith assaulted her between Nov. 26, 2003, and May 18, 2005. Searle would not elaborate on the specifics of the complaint. Under Canada's criminal code, an aggravated sexual assault is deemed to have occurred when a victim has been wounded, maimed, disfigured or had his or her life endangered during the assault.

After a court hearing Nov. 2 in Surrey, British Columbia, Smith, who is married and has two children, was freed on bail of $10,000 Canadian and was ordered by a judge to practice safe sex, tell all future partners that he is H.I.V. positive and surrender his passport.

Speaking to reporters after Smith's bail hearing, his lawyer, Paul Harasen, described Smith as "an educated, quiet, strong individual who has done a lot of good work in the community."

"He denies the charges and he will plead not guilty," he added.

The court placed no conditions on whether Smith could keep playing for the Roughriders, but he has not played since the arrest and instead has been placed on Saskatchewan's disabled list. The Roughriders lost to Montreal in the playoffs Sunday. The league has declined to comment on Smith's situation while his case is before the courts.

Several N.B.A. players, including Karl Malone, were critical of Johnson's attempt to return to the court in 1992, and those concerns caused Johnson to end his comeback. He made another comeback in 1996 and faced less resistance from other players. Similar concerns have been raised in Canada about Smith's future. In the wake of Smith's arrest, the Canadian Public Health Association, a public watchdog group, has sent AIDS awareness brochures to each of the nine teams in the C.F.L.

Tony Miles, a wide receiver with the Toronto Argonauts, said he was shocked C.F.L. officials did not inform players about Smith's illness.

"I don't want to be the one who goes out and plays a sport that I love and comes home H.I.V. positive," Miles said in an interview with The Toronto Star. "I'm just overwhelmed that he was out there playing while H.I.V. positive and carrying on with his everyday life as if he was like everyone else. He was walking around and talking to the guys in the locker room and he was H.I.V. positive."

Johnson's 1991 announcement that he was infected with H.I.V. prompted the N.B.A. to introduce a rule that requires any player who is bleeding to leave the game. The wound must be bandaged before he can re-enter. Most other major professional leagues have adopted similar rules. Also, trainers in most sports now wear gloves when treating players who have open wounds.
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