Olympian Fred Kerley was arrested Thursday night at a hotel ahead of this weekend’s Grand Slam Track event in Miami.
Kerley was involved in an altercation at the Grand Slam Track hotel and was taken to Broward County jail. He will not participate in Grand Slam Track’s U.S. debut this weekend.
LetsRun.com first reported the news.
According to the police report obtained by Front Office Sports, officers responded to an incident between Kerley and his ex-girlfriend Alaysha Johnson, who is also set to compete at Grand Slam Track this weekend. Kerley is one of the organization’s signed “racers” that competes at all events during the 2025 season, while Johnson is a “challenger,” meaning one of a rotating group of athletes who fills out the pool of racers at each event. Kerley competed at Grand Slam Track’s opening event in Kingston, Jamaica in April. He placed seventh in the 100-meter and third in the 200-meter, earning him fourth overall in the combined “short sprints” category. Johnson did not compete at the Kingston event.
The police report says Kerley began to argue with Johnson, got aggressive, said “something to the effect of ‘I’m going to fuck everyone up in here,’” then struck her in the face which made her nose bleed. Johnson told police she wants to press charges against her former boyfriend of about six months, with whom she parted ways in October. He was sent to jail facing one battery charge.
“Fred Kerley was arrested last night. The matter is under active investigation, and all inquiries should be directed to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Fred will not compete this weekend. We have no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson for Grand Slam track said in a statement to FOS. The spokesperson did not respond to questions about Kerley competing in future events or Johnson’s participation this weekend.
Kerley’s agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 29-year-old sprinter competed for Team USA at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, winning silver and bronze, respectively, in the 100-meter. He has also won gold at the World Championships twice for relays and once for the 100-meter.
Kerley was arrested in January in Miami Beach following an incident with a police officer. Police tased the sprinter, and body cam footage shows officers pinning him to the ground and punching him. He was taken to Miami Beach jail, and the next day, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (then called the Miami-Dade Police Department) filed charges of their own against Kerley. Those charges stemmed from an incident last May involving alleged domestic violence between Kerley and his ex-wife. Between May 2024 and January 2025, Kerley had competed in the U.S. Olympic trials as well as the Summer Olympics in Paris. Kerley pleaded not guilty to charges in both cases.
