Former wide receiver Freddie Mitchell, who retired from the NFL following the 2004 season, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison starting in late 2013 for his role in a federal tax fraud scheme. During his imprisonment, music entrepreneur Kai Tyler claimed that he was in prison with the former Eagles WR, claiming he hit Mitchell, forcing the former player to speak on the allegations.

“We got word, you know how you get word when somebody comes to the prison, yo man, Freddie Mitchell get ready to come out,” said Tyler on Locked In with Ian Bick. “‘Who the f**k is that?’ I don’t follow sports… I was like, he’s a bum. I had to put my hands on him because he told, so at this time, I’m like two and a half years in at the same location. So I got people on deck. I couldn’t believe this because when I see Mallard, I’m dropping off the trash. And Mallard said to me, he said, hey, man, you might want to lay low a little bit. I was like, what happened? He said, yeah, somebody said you’re the man with the phones.

“I was like, what? Who said that? Because I ain’t the man with the phones, but why would somebody say that? Who said that? And I was like, oh sh*t, that means football player… It got to be this new motherf**ker, man. All right. I jumped back in the truck. Just so happened he was running the track at the camp. I see him. I pull up. And I said, yo, Fred, I’m out of here real quick. He jogs. He’s like, what’s up, bro? All one hand [slapped]. Straight up. Stop running your f**king mouth. He was like, dude, what you doing? I didn’t say anything.”

Revealed by the podcast host Ian Bick before introducing him, Kai Tyler was reportedly jailed for running an interstate marijua*na trafficking ring. At his peak, he was generating over $60,000 a week in profit by flying pounds of product across the United States. However, a member of his own crew betrayed him and set him up with federal authorities.

As a result, he was convicted on federal dr*g charges and served a 5-year federal prison sentence before being released. Although Tyler claims he was already “two and a half years” into his jail time when he slapped Freddie Mitchell, the former Philly WR noted otherwise.

“Bro this guy lying so hard lol I wish he would have tried to fight me lol,” Mitchell wrote in Instagram comments.

What went on inside the federal prison is tough to determine. But Mitchell, out of all people, is definitely not ready to take an allegedly false narrative against him.

Following their release from the federal prison, Freddie Mitchell stayed away from the limelight and maintained a private life. Meanwhile, Kai Tyler established The Luxury Group, a multi-faceted entertainment and management company, through which he reportedly managed talent and brokered intellectual property deals for several artists, including Lil Baby, Polo G, and Anuel AA.