NFL Network’s Steve Smith Sr. sued under ‘homewrecker’ law for alleged affair

There’s been a lot of drama around the personal lives of various media members over the past few months. One of those is NFL Network analyst Steve Smith Sr., who faced social media accusations in February from a man who claimed Smith had an affair with his wife.

That man, Anthony Martinez, filed a civil lawsuit against Smith in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County Superior Court this week. There, Martinez is seeking more than $100,000 in damages under a “homewrecker” law in that state. Here’s more on that from Julia Coin of The Charlotte Observer:

A lawsuit filed against former NFL star and analyst Steve Smith Sr. accuses the former Carolina Panthers wide receiver of having a monthslong affair with a married Baltimore Ravens marching band member.

The band member’s husband, Antonio Martinez, is asking the Panthers legend and N.C. Sports of Hall Famer for more than $100,000 in the civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.

It’s filed under North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” law, colloquially known as a “homewrecker law,” which allows a spouse to sue a third party for interfering with and destroying a marriage’s love and affection. Only a handful of U.S. states allow such lawsuits.

This situation came to public attention in February thanks to an X account under Martinez’s name posting graphic accusations against Smith, as well as text messages purportedly between Smith and Martinez’s wife Nicole. And now it’s escalated into a lawsuit.

Whether that actually leads to any settlement or financial award remains to be seen. As Coin writes, “In order to prove alienation of affection, Martinez must prove genuine love and affection existed in their marriage.” But the lawsuit filing certainly means this situation will get some more public attention. And we’ll see if this has any impact on Smith’s work with NFL Network.