Former Las Vegas Raiders draft pick Henry Ruggs is serving a 3-to-10-year prison sentence for felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after a November 2021 crash took the life of a 23-year-old woman and her dog.
Ruggs, who pleaded guilty to those charges, was granted a special release from prison to speak at a "Hope for Prisoners" event on Tuesday night, where he fielded questions from media and apologized to the family of Tina Tintor, whose life was tragically taken when her vehicle was struck by Ruggs' Corvette that was going nearly 160 miles per hour.
"I wish I could turn back the hands of time," he said, according to video from Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I would love for them to meet the real Henry Ruggs and not the one that was escaping from something. I sincerely apologize for not only being a part of that situation, but the fact that ... my face is always in the news. My face is always in the newspaper. So they have to constantly be reminded of the situation, and be reminded of me and see those memories have to continue to rise because of all of the fanbase and notoriety that I have, which I never asked for -- I never liked.
"I would just tell them that I deeply apologize for just being a part of that and I wish that they could meet the real Henry Ruggs and not one who was just running away from everything," Ruggs concluded.
Ruggs was the Raiders' No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft and appeared in 20 games over two seasons before he was arrested and charged for his crimes, which led to the Raiders cutting him.
Now almost four years later, Ruggs is 26 years old and has his eye on August 2026, when he'll be eligible for parole at the age of 27.
He also, apparently, has his eye on playing in the NFL again and is not opposed to returning to the Raiders.
"Yes, I would love to," he admitted. "I'm in this newfound spiritual space, and I'm confident in who I am and what I can do, so, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll be ready.
"I don't feel like I ended on the terms that are meaningful to me and my core values. I would love to play again, and what better place to do it than where I started? Not to mention, I was the first-ever pick in Las Vegas," Ruggs added.
Raiders owner Mark Davis expressed remorse for Tintor and her family in the wake of the crash, but he also expressed support for Ruggs, who he said the Raiders would "help" and wouldn't "abandon."
Whether or not that means giving Ruggs another chance in Las Vegas remains to be seen.
