Former Florida High School Football Standout Dontay Joyner Receives Probation After Guilty Plea

The former Lakeland High standout and Maryland defensive back was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor telephone misuse.

Former Lakeland football star, now a senior standout at the University of Maryland, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor telephone misuse charge. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former Lakeland High School (Florida) football standout Dontay Joyner will not serve additional jail time after pleading guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor telephone misuse in Harford County (Maryland) Circuit Court.

Court Hands Down Sentence

According to the Baltimore Sun, Joyner was sentenced to time served after spending 27 days in jail following his June 11 arrest. He also received three years of supervised probation, must undergo a mental health evaluation, enroll in an abuse intervention program and have no contact with the victim. A separate charge of electronic communication harassment was dismissed.

Joyner's attorney, Douglas Gansler, said he was pleased with the outcome and argued that Joyner's pretrial incarceration for a misdemeanor offense was excessive. Judge Kerwin Miller, who presided over the case found Joyner's alleged behavior equally excessive.

“The language used was incredibly offensive, incredibly distasteful, incredibly inappropriate,” said Judge Miller, according to the Baltimore Banner.

The Banner also reported that the state's case claimed,Joyner placed 92 calls to the victim, over a five day period. The prosecution also submitted 39 pages of text messages. The harassment allegedly continued even though the woman repeated asked Joyner to stop, even threatening to call the police and report the activity to the Maryland football coaching staff.

The abuse allegedly came to a head on June 11 when Joyner drove to the victim's home in Edgewood, Md. According to the state, he continued his harassing calls during that trip, threatening to harm the woman. Police were called and Joyner was arrested near the woman's home, early in the morning.

No Additional Jail Time Required

The case stemmed from allegations involving threatening text messages sent to Joyner's then-girlfriend. During Wednesday's hearing, the victim asked the court not to impose additional jail time, according to the Baltimore Sun report.

Joyner apologized in court to his teammates and coaches before sentencing.

Former Lakeland Star's Football Future Uncertain

In December, Joyner announced that he would be returning to Maryland for his senior season, proclaiming, "I'm back," in a social media post. The question now is, will Maryland accept him back?

A Maryland athletics spokesperson told the Baltimore Sun the university is aware of the court's decision but declined further comment. Joyner's status with the Terrapins football program remains unclear.

One of Florida's top defensive backs during his prep career, Joyner starred at Lakeland High School before beginning his college career at Arkansas State. He transferred to Maryland before the 2025 season, where he started every game at cornerback and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition.