Lawsuit: Dwayne Haskins Was Drugged As Part of ‘Blackmail and Robbery Conspiracy’

An attorney for Dwayne Haskins said in a lawsuit that the late Steelers quarterback’s death was part of a conspiracy that targeted the athlete.

“It is believed that Dwayne was targeted and drugged as part of a blackmail and robbery conspiracy,” Rick Ellsley said in a statement released Monday morning. “In fact, his highly-expensive watch was stolen from him shortly before his death.” 

On April 9, 2022, Haskins was pronounced dead after he was hit by a dump truck while trying to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. An autopsy report obtained by the Miami Herald revealed that Haskins’s blood-alcohol level was 0.20 at the time of his death.

The autopsy report stated Haskins was drinking “heavily” at a nightclub, where he reportedly got into a fight and left, hours before his death. The quarterback also tested positive for ketamine and norketamine, drugs that typically are used as medical anesthetics.

In the statement, Ellsley also raised questions about the culpability of the dump truck driver. Ellsley claimed the truck was “going faster than the speed limit, carrying excessive cargo, had brake system problems and was traveling on low tread tires with separated sidewalls.”

Ellsley wrote that filing a lawsuit “is an important step in the process of uncovering the complete truth about this tragedy.”

Kalabrya Haskins, the quarterback’s widow, is listed as the plaintiff in the lawsuit, according to ESPN.