Former first-round pick Jeff Gladney has been acquitted by a jury on assault charges, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com.
The cornerback was released by the Vikings last August following an indictment for domestic violence. Gladney was accused of choking, punching, and shoving a woman during an incident in April, 2021.
“First and foremost, this has had a real impact on Jeff Gladney as a person,” said agents Brian E. Overstreet and Rodney Williams (via Wilson). “These situations have very real consequences for the young men involved. This has been a challenging time for Jeff mentally, spiritually and athletically. So, we applaud Jeff for having the courage to stand and fight for his freedom versus these false allegations. We further hope this will encourage other athletes in the future who have been falsely accused, blackmailed or persuaded to provide hush money to make these type of situations go away, to now take a stand and defend themselves as well.”
The TCU product was selected in the first round of the 2020 draft by the Vikings. He got into 16 games (15 starts) as a rookie, finishing with 81 tackles and three passes defended.
The Bears need to sign him asap.
Seems like the Vikings jumped the gun releasing him.
Absolutely right. What happened to innocent until proven guilty
Innocent until proven guilty is the standard for criminal proceedings, and sure enough, the jury decided he had not been proven guilty of assault beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s not the standard for whether an employer wants to keep a guy around. There was more to the story than just assault. If the Vikings decided he’d shown himself to be a lousy guy they didn’t want in the building after a bad rookie season, that’d their prerogative. A player doesn’t have to be proven guilty of a felony to be released for character reasons. Heck, Jachai Polite didn’t even make it to his rookie season.
No teams just distance themselves immediately upon charges unless the cap hit is too astronomical or it’s a QB like Watson.
Saints should sign him
The NFL should suspend these clowns for a season, regardless of the outcome of the misjustice system.
I’m not one to say a court’s findings are absolute, but that’s absurd, especially after his contract was already terminated.
hmmm that kinda sounds what’s the word? It starts with an r and ends with acist
How is that even racist?? He didn’t say the black players who do this, or the white players who do this or the orange players who do this. Go back to your hole and take your racist card with you
And that’s the bottom line cause stone cold said so