Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs is awaiting a parole decision within the next week that could release him from prison in August, five years after he pleaded guilty as the driver in a drunken, high-speed crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog.
Here is what you need to know as the ruling nears.
Why is Ruggs in prison?
In November 2021, Ruggs was driving as fast as 156 mph with a blood-alcohol level of 0.161 — more than twice the legal limit — before his Corvette hit a car carrying Tintor and her dog, killing both.
In May 2023, Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter. Three months later, he was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after three years.
In December 2025, Ruggs was moved from a minimum-security facility in Las Vegas to a medium-security prison in Northern Nevada. The Nevada Department of Corrections said at the time it could not specify why Ruggs was moved but said that offenders who commit infractions can be moved to higher levels of custody.
When could Ruggs be paroled?
The earliest Ruggs can be paroled is Aug. 5. The Nevada Board of Parole is expected to make a decision by June 14.
At a parole hearing last month, Ruggs told the board he thinks about Tintor’s death every day and asked the board to give him “the privilege of parole so I can prove myself to everyone.”
“I’m a religious person and pray for her family daily,” he said.
Tintor’s family did not speak publicly during or after the hearing but had the opportunity to speak with the board privately, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The family has not commented publicly since a statement from Tintor’s mother, Mirjana Komazec, was read by Tintor’s cousin, Daniel Strbac, at Ruggs’ sentencing in August 2023. The statement read: “Every parent’s worst nightmare is to create a beautiful child just to have them taken away at the hands of another’s negligence. There are very few words to explain the feelings of losing a child. It is a pain we feel every day.”
Could Ruggs return to the NFL?
Separately from the parole question, Ruggs, 27, has also expressed interest in returning to football. He told a Hope For Prisoners group gathering in Las Vegas last year that he wanted to return to the NFL when released from prison. Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs, a former teammate at Alabama and with the Raiders, said last year that Ruggs was training in prison and that he had talked to other NFL teams on Ruggs’ behalf, adding “a couple teams” seemed “willing to give him a chance.”
A first-round pick by the Raiders in 2020, Ruggs had 24 catches for 469 yards and two touchdowns in seven games in 2021 before the Raiders released him hours after he was charged in the death of Tintor.
Ruggs is a free agent and could sign with any team.
Would Ruggs face punishment from the NFL?
All NFL players are subject to the league’s personal-conduct policy, which can lead to punishment (including suspension) even without a criminal conviction. The policy language gives the league ample latitude to impose discipline depending on aggravating and mitigating factors. It is unclear whether or how much the league would factor Ruggs’ time served in prison and four-year absence from the NFL.
The NFL did not immediately respond when asked for comment about whether Ruggs would face discipline if he were to sign with a team.
In 2009, then-Cleveland Browns receiver Donte’ Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter after his car struck and killed a construction worker while Stallworth was driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.126. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Stallworth — who served 24 days of a 30-day jail sentence and settled a civil lawsuit with the victim’s family — for the full 2009 season. He was reinstated in 2010 and played three more NFL seasons.
There is little precedent for Ruggs’ situation since the personal-conduct policy was overhauled in 2014.