Cowboys’ Josh Brent, facing manslaughter charge, retires

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent has retired.

Brent, facing an intoxication manslaughter charge in the death of teammate Jerry Brown, announced through the team Thursday that he was stepping away from football.

“This is the right decision for me, and something I have given a lot of thought to,” said Brent, 25, in a Cowboys news release. “I am at a point where my main focus is all about getting the priorities in my life in order. Those priorities are more important than football. Doing the right things in life are more important than football. I love the game very much. I love my teammates, but this is the right thing for me to do.”

Brent was behind the wheel of a car wreck in Irving, Texas, last December that killed Brown, his close friend. Brent’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Since being released on a $100,000 bond, Brent has failed two drug tests, with the second failure landing him back in jail in June. He was recently released under a court order that he wear a drug-detection patch and not drive. He has a Sept. 23 court date for the manslaughter charge.

The Cowboys open camp in Oxnard this weekend.

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