Boston on Robbery: 'I Could Have Died That Night'

The Husky wide receiver recounts having gun pressed against his neck.
Denzel Boston talks about getting robbed last month.
Denzel Boston talks about getting robbed last month. / Dan Raley

Four nights into the new year, after returning from the Sun Bowl in Texas, Denzel Boston shocked everyone by posting on social media how he got robbed at gunpoint in Seattle -- and he even posted a photo of his assailant.

The University of Washington wide receiver was out with friends downtown on a Friday evening when he was accosted by someone wearing what appeared to be a puffy black ski jacket and saggy red sweatpants.

The other person was shown in the image flashing a handgun, pulled from his pocket. It was much worse than that, though, with the gun eventually pressed into Boston's neck.

"The biggest thing for me in the situation is everyone is OK -- my own self is OK, you know what I mean," he said. "I could have died that night."

The robber took Boston's wallet and some jewelry and, at least for a while, escaped into the night with his anonymity intact.

However, Boston's posting of the photo of the suspect, apparently taken surreptitiously by one of his friends, quickly flushed out several tips from the public that identified someone who turned out to be a 17-year-old kid.

"That was like heart-breaking to hear, if you know what I mean, like you're a high schooler, you're a high school kid," the Husky pass-catcher said. "I wish the best for you and I want you to do good for yourself. It's hard to do that when you have these kids out here with the influences on robbing and stealing all the time."

This wannabe thug apparently saw a crime of opportunity but had no idea he was shaking down a prominent Husky football player, and not just any player either. Boston is someone who caught 63 passes for 834 yards and 9 touchdowns last season, making him one of the nation's top wide receivers and recognizable enough across college football that he likely will be an NFL player someday.

"He didn't know who I was until after," Boston said. "A lot of people told me who exactly he was, from his old high school, people that he knows around Seattle now. You know, I had a lot of people reach out to me and get my back and make sure I was going to get my stuff back."

While he had his valuables returned to him and received an apology, Boston wouldn't say whether the gun-toting teenager was arrested, faces other possible repercussions or provide any further information on him, that he had been advised not to give out any detail about the teenager.

"I'm just glad I'm here and I'm still standing," he said. "I give that all up to God."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.