Ottawa Redblacks release receiver Quan Bray after arrest warrant is issued, then cancelled in sexual assault case

The charges relate to an alleged incident with a woman in 2021.

Author of the article:

Paul Cherry • Montreal Gazette

Published Jun 29, 2023 • 3 minute read

Quan Bray had been listed on the Redblacks’ roster for Friday’s home game against the Elks, but he was instead released after the team learned of the criminal charges against him. Photo by Tim Baines /Postmedia

MONTREAL — An arrest warrant was issued and later cancelled Thursday in a case where a former Montreal Alouettes who had playing for the Ottawa Redblacks this season was charged with sexually assaulting a women he knew and with obstructing justice by allegedly trying to convince her to drop her complaint.

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Jaquan Tyreke Bray, 30, a wide receiver who plays under the name Quan Bray, was charged earlier this year. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted, assaulted and choked a woman he knew during 2021. He is also alleged to have obstructed justice between Dec. 5, 2021, and July 21, 2022, by trying to convince the woman to withdraw the complaint she filed with the Montreal police.

Bray was on the Ottawa Redblacks roster until Thursday. In a statement, the Redblacks wrote: “The Ottawa Redblacks were made aware, Thursday, of criminal charges pending against receiver Quan Bray. Bray has been released by the organization.”

Before he entered the Canadian Football League in 2019, Bray played in the National Football League with the Indianapolis Colts.

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He is alleged to have assaulted the woman while he was playing for the Alouettes during the 2021 season.

Quebec Court Judge Alexandre Dalmau issued the warrant Thursday morning after it appeared Bray failed to show up for a court date. But the judge cancelled the warrant when a lawyer representing the football player showed up to represent him Thursday afternoon. Bray was not required to be present and his case was carried over to August.

According to the first arrest warrant issued in the case in April, Bray still resides in Montreal, and he made his first court appearance in the case on May 1.

In June, Bray told the Ottawa Sun that he had a tattoo on his right arm saying “R.I.P. Mom” in memory of his mother, Tonya Bray, who was murdered by his father in Georgia on July 3, 2011. He also told the newspaper he would leave a ticket for his deceased mother before the Redblacks played the Calgary Stampeders earlier this month.

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“(When I found out she was dead), it was the worst feeling in my life,” Bray told the Sun. “Her smile would light up a room. She was a great mother, my No. 1 fan, the loudest one in the stands cheering me on. I know she wanted me to pursue my dream. Now, it’s my motivation, doing what I know she wanted me to do. I’m keeping the dream alive.”

He also said he had created a foundation in memory of his mother to help a variety of people, including kids who have suffered through domestic violence.

Bray joined the Alouettes in June 2019, when he was first accepted on the team’s practice roster. A month later he was on the Alouettes’ roster and impressed the team with a couple of touchdowns, including one play where he ran for 75 yards to reach the end-zone.

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He was expected the return to the Alouettes for the following season, but, in February 2020, Bray, former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Greg Robinson and a third man were pulled over in Texas while riding in a rented sport utility vehicle. A border patrol agent found 157 pounds of cannabis inside the vehicle.

The 2020 CFL season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed Bray time to deal with that case without it having an impact on his status with the Alouettes. He and Robinson were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cannabis and possession with intent to distribute cannabis. One of the two charges brought against Bray was eventually dropped and he walked away from the case with an undisclosed fine.

“That’s life and things happen,” Bray told the Montreal Gazette in 2021 after the Alouettes announced he would return to the team. “You try to avoid certain situations, but they do come about in life. I’ll keep myself in the right situations. It was a learning experience.”

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