NFL Star Willie McGinest’s Legal Woes Deepen With Big U Conspiracy Over Bottle Beatdown
Willie McGinest turned to street-certified power broker Eugene “Big U” Henley for help after a bottle-smashing beatdown inside a Los Angeles hot spot and the FBI caught the conspiracy on a wiretap.
According to a sprawling 107-page federal criminal complaint unsealed this week, McGinest sought Big U’s influence to get out of trouble after a brutal December 2022 attack at Delilah in West Hollywood.
The surveillance footage, which quickly hit the internet, showed the former Patriots linebacker punching a man and cracking a bottle over his head during an ugly altercation.
McGinest, a three-time Super Bowl champion turned NFL Network commentator, surrendered to authorities on December 19, 2022, and posted $30,000 bail.
He was hit with two serious counts: assault with a deadly weapon and assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury—each carrying up to four years behind bars.
As the legal firestorm raged, Big U apparently went into damage-control mode on behalf of McGinest.
In a call recorded on December 23, 2022, Big U instructed a relative of the victim, identified as J.S., to “go to the lineup. Tell him to pick the wrong person.”
In another wiretapped call on January 2, 2023, Big U was heard laying out a strategy to a group of associates.
“The young n#### going to say he stole his watch out the bathroom and [the former NFL player] came to get his watch back and it turned into something else. He’s going to apologize for stealing [the former NFL player] ‘s watch… Case dismissed,” Big U said.
By January 7, the FBI was tailing Big U as he met with the victim’s father, trying to get the family to flip and help make the case disappear. During an intercepted call, Big U explicitly told J.S. the victim needed to accept blame to shield McGinest from prosecution.
On January 9, Big U was recorded again, saying to an associate: “Get the criminal case off them.” He was adamant that the victim’s refusal to press charges couldn’t be traced back to him or his crew.
But despite the backdoor maneuvering, the charges stuck.
Though he later apologized publicly and took “full responsibility,” McGinest pleaded not guilty in August 2023. The victim eventually filed a civil lawsuit against McGinest, seeking money for the assault.
The NFL Network suspended and ultimately severed ties with McGinest in March 2023, signaling that the league wasn’t interested in any drama involving busted bottles and bottle-service beatdowns.
Meanwhile, Big U—long a controversial figure with deep ties to the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips and a reputation for running LA’s under-the-table power structure—has problems of his own.
On March 19, 2025, he turned himself into federal authorities to face a mountain of charges stemming from an ongoing RICO investigation.
Prosecutors allege Big U and his “Big U Enterprise” are responsible for everything from extortion, robbery and murder to bank fraud, human trafficking and manipulating city-funded nonprofit cash flows.
The feds say the operation was a front for intimidation and criminal enterprise masked as community service.