Jeannette residents say they still support Terrelle Pryor despite domestic fight, arrest

Jeannette was where Terrelle Pryor first became a football star. The day after news of his serious wounding during a domestic dispute at his Pittsburgh apartment, his hometown fans said they still have his back.

“It’s unfortunate, but he’s done a lot of great things for Jeannette,” said Brooke Fornalczyk. “I think Terrelle has been a role model for a lot of kids on the football team and on the basketball team. We’re all praying for him to get better.”

Police said Pryor, 30, was stabbed in the chest early Saturday and underwent surgery. His agent and others said he is expected to survive.

Pittsburgh police charged Pryor’s girlfriend, Shalaya Briston, with aggravated assault and attempted homicide. Pryor was charged with simple assault.

Police said witnesses claimed Briston and Pryor argued and had a physical altercation before he drove himself to UPMC Mercy hospital.

Football fans who gathered Sunday at Franko’s Sports Bar in Jeannette recalled Pryor’s stellar high school and college careers and said they were shocked by the news of his stabbing.

Robert Alcorn, now of Greensburg but who grew up in Jeannette, said he went to school with Pryor and some family members.

“I always thought he was a good kid and I’m hoping everything is OK. I didn’t even know he was around,” Alcorn said.

Jeff Wyant, who has lived in Jeannette for 18 years, said he remembers watching Pryor star as a quarterback for Jeannette and expected more from him as a professional player. He said he was upset with Pryor’s involvement in what police are calling a crime.

But he says the incident didn’t diminish what he accomplished first at Jeannette, when he led the school to its first state football title in 2007, and then at Ohio State University, where he helped the Buckeyes win a Big Ten championship.

Wyant continued to follow Pryor’s career from college to the National Football League, where he was drafted in third round by the Oakland Raiders in 2011 and played quarterback and later wide receiver. Pryor has since played for the Browns, Redskins, Jets and Bills. Earlier this year, he signed with Jacksonville but was released after an injury in August.

He reached out to the Pittsburgh Steelers recently when injuries depleted their receiving corps. Nothing came of it.

“He’s thrown his life away,” Wyant said. “He should have been with the Steelers a long time ago. The first time I saw him play, I was blown away.”

Austin Lakin, a employee at the nearby Bowl Arena, said customers have spent the last two days talking about Pryor.

“The people who know him personally see him as the same person he always was,” Lakin said.

Fornalczyk, who said she, too, watched Pryor play in high school and still has a replica of his college jersey, said Jeannette residents will continue to support their native son.

“It’s unfortunate,” Fornalczyk said, “but he’s done a lot of great things for Jeannette.”