Report: Vikings Cornerback Jeff Gladney Charged With Felony Domestic Violence
Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney has turned himself into the Dallas County Jail after posting a $10,000 bond on "a charge of 3rd degree felony family violence assault," according to J.D. Miles of CBS 11 News in Dallas.
Here are all of the details from the four-tweet thread Miles sent out. Warning: some of them are graphic.
"[Gladney] now faces up to 2-10 years in prison if convicted after an incident that happened on April 2nd. That’s when a 22-year-old woman, who says she was in a relationship with Gladney, told police they got into an altercation over text messages she was receiving. Gladney is accused of hitting the accuser with closed fists, choking her and dragging her by the hair while driving with her outside his vehicle. She also accuses him of '...pulling (her) by her hair trying to hold her still in order to get the Face ID to work.' The accuser was able to break free and get into a vehicle with unknown passengers. Detectives documented bruising on her head, ears and torso. She also reported scratches on her face and neck and abrasions on her knees."
That description of events is extremely disturbing. This is a very serious situation. Additional details can be found in the full article posted by Miles this afternoon.
The most important thing here is the health and safety of the female victim. There will be an investigation and a legal process that will play out like it would for any person charged with a crime like this.
The football implications of this are a secondary concern right now. Actions by the Vikings and the NFL will depend on how the legal process plays out.
Update: the Vikings released the following statement. “We are aware of Jeff’s arrest and are gathering additional information. We take this matter very seriously, as the reported allegations are extremely disturbing. At this time we will have no further comment.” The NFL is also investigating this incident under the league's Personal Conduct Policy.
The bottom line is that if all of this proves to be accurate information, Gladney's Vikings career will be over and his NFL career will be in jeopardy as well. There are players like Tyreek Hill, Joe Mixon, and Kareem Hunt that have been accused of domestic violence in the past and had their football careers continue, which is something that has to be discussed and reconciled with in the NFL. It's also worth noting that every situation is different from a legal perspective.
This incident apparently happened this past Friday, April 2nd, one week after the Vikings signed Mackensie Alexander, so those two events were not related at all.
The Vikings selected Gladney 31st overall in last year's NFL draft out of TCU. He played nearly 1,000 defensive snaps as a rookie.
If Gladney is cut by the Vikings, there are provisions that would void the guaranteed money in his contract based on his conduct.
This story will be updated if additional details are reported.
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