Former Nfl Running Back Wins Legal Battle To See His Dying Daughter

Wendell Smallwood Jr.'s daughter is dying. The former NFL running back wanted to spend her final days by her side, but his prison sentence nearly made that impossible.

On Aug. 7, Gloucester County Superior Court Judge Renard Scott granted Smallwood's motion to withdraw a guilty plea he made last year. The decision means that Smallwood could be released as soon as Aug. 10, his lawyer, Yaron Helmer, told The News Journal, part of the USA TODAY network.

Smallwood, 33, pleaded guilty in 2024 to charges of felony wire fraud, conspiracy and tax fraud tied to economic relief programs from the COVID-19 pandemic. The former NFL running back was sentenced to 18 months in prison last September.

Smallwood also pleaded guilty in March to second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm for possessing an AR-15 rifle in New Jersey, a state which – at the time – banned the ownership of assault weapons. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, concurrent to his federal sentence, with a requirement he remained incarcerated for at least one year.

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In 2026, Smallwood's daughter, Mila, was diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy had been "unsuccessful," The News Journal reported, and she was in palliative care with doctors giving her days or weeks to live.

According to The News Journal, Smallwood was eligible for release on his federal sentence of fraud due to "his prison program participation and disciplinary record." His lawyer told The News Journal that the gun charge in New Jersey would have kept Smallwood incarcerated "through November."

Smallwood got the chance to bid for his release when a July ruling from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down New Jersey's ban on assault weapons, providing the former running back with legal grounds to withdraw his guilty plea.

Prosecutors argued that the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals' recent judgment should not have had legal bearing on Smallwood's case since the court agreed to stay its ruling while New Jersey's attorney general petitions the United States Supreme Court.

Scott, the judge in Smallwood's emergency hearing on Aug. 7, ruled in favor of the former running back. He cited Smallwood's circumstances – the severe illness of his daughter – as a significant reason for granting the motion.

"This is an illness that is untreatable," Scott said, per The News Journal. "His daughter has days, possibly weeks remaining."

Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Bryant Flowers petitioned Scott to stay his ruling to give the prosecution a chance to appeal, but Scott did not grant the stay.

"We are grateful for this step forward, but our biggest fight is still Mila’s," Smallwood's wife, Autumn, wrote in an email to The News Journal. "Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she continues to fight."

Smallwood was a fifth-round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played for three other teams across six seasons in the NFL, with his final appearance coming in 2021 as a member of the Washington Football Team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former NFL running back wins legal battle to see his dying daughter