Aqib Talib’s brother, Yaqub, sentenced to 37 years in fatal shooting at youth football game

Yaqub Talib, the brother of retired NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, was sentenced to 37 years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to the murder of youth football coach Michael Hickmon. 

The 40-year-old Yaqub Talib agreed to plead guilty as part of a plea deal last month after he was indicted last September. He and Aqib were in attendance at the game in Lancaster, Texas, where the shooting happened last August. Witnesses reportedly said the Talib brothers got into a fight with Hickmon over a referee’s call.

Yaqub Talib shot Hickmon in front of several children, including the victim's 9-year-old son. Hickmon was shot in the front of his body and his back, according to court documents. He died at Methodist Central Hospital in Dallas. 

Talib reportedly left the scene after the altercation and turned himself in to law enforcement days after the shooting. Aqib reportedly stepped aside from his duties with Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” broadcast team to "spend time with his family" after his brother's arrest. 

Both brothers were present in the Dallas County courtroom Monday: 

After the sentencing, family members and friends of Hickmon's had the option to take the stand and directly address Yaqub Talib. 

Hickmon's wife, Kenyetta, spoke about the difficulties of going on without her husband and raising three children alone.

"You killed innocence. You killed souls, hopes, dreams. Not just my kids. But all the 30, 40 other little kids that was there. Who does that? How did you think that was right?" she said Monday. "People asked are you healed? I'll never be healed. I still ask myself every day: 'Why?'"

Hickmon’s family sued Big XII Sports League and Family Services and the Talib brothers for over $1 million in December. The pending personal injury lawsuit alleges Aqib played a major role in igniting the brawl that led to Yaqub's shooting of Hickmon. The lawsuit also claimed Big XII Sports League and Family Services failed to vet coaches and provide a safe and secure environment for its participants.