A 64-year-old Virginia man faces abduction and domestic assault charges after allegedly taping his wife to a basement chair to watch football.
Terry Ward allegedly restrained his wife for between 30 and 45 minutes at their Richmond home. Police documented marks and tape residue around both her arms, according to a criminal complaint cited by WTVR CBS 6.
Officers responded to the couple’s home near Byrd Park on Sunday night, October 11, the broadcaster reported. The complaint records the woman’s account and Ward’s alleged admission that he tied her to a chair and left her downstairs.
WTVR attributed the reported football motive to sources who spoke with Virginia Statewide Incidents. Those sources said watching football upstairs was one reason for the alleged restraint.
The available reporting does not identify the game or establish whether Ward was watching NFL or college football. It also does not provide a verified account of what preceded the alleged incident.
Ward faces felony abduction and misdemeanour assault on a family member. His next reported court appearance is November 10.
The accusations remain allegations, and the court has not determined his guilt. WTVR’s report does not include a response from Ward or a lawyer representing him.
Virginia law generally classifies abduction of an adult as a Class 5 felony when no other punishment applies. The offence covers unlawful detention through force, intimidation or deception with an intent to deprive someone of personal liberty.
The statute therefore extends beyond cases involving transportation from one location to another. Virginia separately classifies assault and battery against a family or household member as a Class 1 misdemeanour, subject to statutory exceptions.
The reported football connection has attracted attention, but the criminal case centres on the alleged confinement and assault. Neither a sporting routine nor enthusiasm for a team establishes what happened inside the home.
Gulf News placed the incident alongside broader discussion of football traditions and unusual pre-game habits. It cited Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith’s practice of taking a shot of Tabasco sauce before games.
An earlier ESPN report described that ritual as part of Smith’s meal before noon kickoffs. Such routines have no established connection to Ward’s case.
Researchers have separately examined links between football results and reported domestic violence. A 2011 study by economists David Card and Gordon Dahl found increased reports following unexpected NFL losses.
Their analysis associated those defeats with a 10% increase in at-home violence by men against wives and girlfriends. A 2026 reassessment found a considerably smaller effect overall, although some restricted samples still showed relationships.
Those findings concern patterns across groups and cannot explain an individual allegation. Investigators have not publicly identified a game result as a factor in Ward’s case.
For now, the central evidence described in local reporting remains the woman’s account, the marks officers observed and Ward’s alleged admission.
