Talib Receives 37 Years for Murder

By Lana Ferguson
The Dallas Morning News

Yaqub Talib was sentenced Monday to 37 years in prison after pleading guilty to a murder charge in the deadly shooting of a youth football coach during a scrimmage game last year in Lancaster.

Talib, the 40-year-old brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, agreed to plead guilty last month after he was indicted on the murder charge last September. The 37-year sentence was a part of the plea bargain agreement. 13, 2022, after an argument.

Lancaster police said at the time that witnesses reported a brawl began after a disagreement between coaching staffs over a call made by game officials. Video of the incident shows a group of men fighting, followed by the sound of several gunshots.

According to court documents, Hickmon was shot multiple times, including in the back.

Officers responded to the scene at Lancaster Community Park before Hickmon was taken to Methodist Central Hospital in Dallas, where he died.

Talib had left the scene after the altercation, but witnesses identified him as the gunman and he turned himself in to law enforcement days after the shooting, according to previous reporting.

Hickmon’s family sued Big XII Sports League and Family Services and brothers Yaqub and Aqib Talib in December. The personal injury lawsuit is pending.

Lana Ferguson joined The Dallas Morning News after reporting in South Carolina's Lowcountry for The Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette newspapers. She graduated from the University of Mississippi where she studied journalism and Southern studies. She's a Virginia native but her work has taken her all over the U.S., southern Africa, and Sri Lanka.