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Peyton Smith, the son of legendary former wide receiver and NFL Network analyst Steve Smith Sr., said he's received "hateful messages" after his father was publicly accused of having an affair with a married woman.
“Your kind words and prayers are felt and appreciated. God’s got us,” Peyton wrote in the caption of a photo of himself and his three siblings alongside their mother, Angie, shared on his Instagram account. “I won’t take much time feeding into the negativity, but to those sending hateful messages to my family, I hope you take time to reflect that you have nothing better to do with your day than to message hate to a stranger.”
Tony Martinez, whose handle was @Lambeaughini, accused Smith of having sex with his wife, a member of the Baltimore Ravens Band, and shared screenshots of messages allegedly exchanged between the two, as well as a video of himself on the phone with someone he claimed was the retired wide receiver and addressed as "Steve," in a post shared on his since-deleted X account.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Martinez asked during the call.
"I'm sorry," the voice responded after a pause.
X user @FearedBuck shared a screengrab of the explicit messages and the call made by Martinez here.
Smith, 45, has been married to his wife since his senior season at the University of Utah in 2000. A Facebook post shared by an account claiming to be Martinez's wife states that they have one son.
Smith was one of the NFL's best wide receivers of the 2000s and arguably the best in Carolina Panthers' history, having spent his first 13 seasons with the franchise and final three with the Ravens. The Los Angeles native was a two-time first-team All-Pro in 2001 and 2005, a second-team All-Pro in 2008, a five-time Pro Bowler (2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011) and led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2005.