Kellen Winslow Jr. requests 14...

Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. has requested his 14-year prison sentence be reduced with the argument that the physical trauma he sustained while playing football entitles him to a shorter stay behind bars under a new California law, according to USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer.

Winslow reportedly mailed a handwritten habeas corpus petition in November from a state prison in Tehachapi, California, and is representing himself without an attorney.

The former Cleveland Browns first-round draft pick and Pro Bowler received his 14-year sentence in March 2021 under a plea arrangement that saw Winslow convicted of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person, assault with intent to commit rape, indecent exposure and lewd conduct in public. He had originally been facing life in prison.

Why Kellen Winslow Jr. thinks he should get out of prison early

The petition reportedly argues that Winslow's trauma from football played a role in the offenses that landed him in prison and currently have him ineligible for parole until July 2028:

The bill Winslow refers to, Assembly Bill 124, was signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. Per USA Today, the bill was intended to help criminal defendants who have previously experienced “psychological, physical, or childhood trauma, including, but not limited to, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or sexual violence,” requiring such issues to be considered during plea bargaining, sentencing or resentencing.

Winslow's attorneys reportedly made a similar argument during his sentencing, claiming he had potentially sustained more than 1,000 blows to his head during his football career, as well as head trauma from a 2005 motorcycle accident. He still received a 14-year sentence.

How Kellen Winslow Jr. received his 14-year prison sentence

The 14-year sentence was the result of a years-long legal battle after Winslow was accused of multiple rapes and sexual offenses committed against five women in Southern California. He was originally found guilty in 2019 of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman in San Diego, but the jury was deadlocked on six additional felonies.

Winslow subsequently pleaded guilty to raping an unconscious 17-year-old girl in 2003 and to sexual battery of a a 54-year-old hitchhiker in 2018 and later revised the plea deal in a way that set his maximum sentence at 14 years, which he received.