Falcons Release Barkevious Mingo

In light of Barkevious Mingo’s arrest on the charge of “indecency with a child–sexual contact,” the Falcons have elected to release the veteran linebacker. In a statement announcing the move, the team said, “After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract.”

We now have a few more details on the matter, courtesy of Jon Wertheim of SI.com. Wertheim reports that the alleged incident took place during the Fourth of July weekend in 2019, when Mingo treated a teenage family member and the boy’s friend (also a teenager) to a trip to an amusement park and a go-kart complex. Mingo also took the boys to dinner at a local steakhouse and paid for an online shopping spree at Nike.com.

The boys spent the evening of July 4, 2019, at the hotel where Mingo was staying. The alleged victim said the boys were supposed to sleep in a different room from Mingo, but at around 3am, he woke up to find Mingo lying in bed with him. At this point, we will direct you to Wertheim’s article for the rest of the details, which are disturbing.

The alleged victim’s mother filed a complaint with police in January 2021, and the investigation — which included a search warrant for Nike’s sales records — culminated in a felony charge against Mingo. The No. 6 overall pick of the 2013 draft faces up to 20 years in prison.

Mingo’s attorney, Lukas Garcia, issued the following statement: “At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive.”

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