Ex-Super Bowl champ gets early release from prison to be with 8-year-old daughter dying of cancer
Former Super Bowl champion running back Wendell Smallwood Jr., who’s been imprisoned since 2024 on fraud and gun possession charges, was granted an early release to be by the side of his 8-year-old daughter, Mila, who is dying of cancer, according to the Delaware News Journal.Smallwood’s daughter reportedly was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and doctors said she may have only days or weeks to live.Gloucester County Superior Court Judge Renard Scott granted the motion to withdraw Smallwood’s guilty plea on Aug.7, and said Smallwood’s reasoning for seeking release carried substantial weight.“[It’s an] unfortunate situation none of us would want to face,” Scott said, per the outlet.
“This is an illness that is untreatable.His daughter has days, possibly weeks remaining.” Smallwood, a 32-year-old father of three, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in September 2025 on federal fraud charges related to COVID-19 economic relief programs — and a state court sentence after pleading guilty to possessing an AR-15 rifle locked away in the basement of his home in New Jersey, a state where possession of such firearms is illegal.Scott, who said that Smallwood is not considered a danger to the community, explained that the ex-Eagle bought the gun legally in Pennsylvania and made a “poor judgment call” by possessing it in New Jersey.Smallwood reportedly was about three months from qualifying for full parole.According to the Daily Mail, Mila was diagnosed earlier this year with diffuse anaplastic Wilms tumor, a rare and aggressive form of childhood kidney cancer.Smallwood’s daughter underwent unsuccessful chemotherapy between visits with her father at the federal Fort Dix prison, according to the Delaware News Journal, which said she is currently in palliative care.“They can’t do anything except make her comfortable now,” said Yaron Helmer, Smallwood’s attorney.“I can’t think of a stronger reason than to be with his dying daughter.�...