Saquon Barkley’s father Alibay arrested and charged with weapons possession

Alibay Barkley, father of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, was arrested in New York City earlier this week.

The New York Police Department confirmed to TMZ Sports that Alibay was arrested after being stopped Wednesday night because his car “had obscured license plates that did not match the vehicle.”

Police determined the car was unregistered and allegedly found a loaded firearm illegally located in the vehicle. Alibay was charged with several counts, including illegal possession of a loaded firearm. He was released from custody on Thursday, according to records.

Katherine Donlevy and Larry Celona of the New York Post noted that it was unclear whether anyone else was in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.

No further details about the arrest or charges are available yet.

Saquon has spoken in the past about his father being his biggest supporter.

“My dad is my biggest fan, him and my brother (Rashard). My dad has been through a lot,” Barkley told Mark Wogenrich of the Allentown Morning call in 2016 (h/t Mike Gross of LancasterOnline.com). “He made that very clear to me as a kid: Don’t make the same mistakes he did in life.”

Gross noted that Alibay had previously been arrested for weapons possession at age 19 while on parole and serving a year in prison. Saquon’s mother, Tonya Johnson, moved the family to Pennsylvania, where Alibay eventually moved after his release.

“A lot of people try to look at my dad’s history and talk bad about it, but you have to respect him,” Saquon told reporters during his Pro Day at Penn State in March 2018. “You have to respect him as a man. A lot of people can’t look their kids in the face and tell them the decisions they made were terrible and bad. That’s what helped me.”

Barkley signed a three-year, $37.8 million contract with the Eagles as a free agent in March. He spent the first six years of his NFL career with the New York Giants after being selected No. 2 overall in the 2018 draft.