On the field, the New England Patriots haven’t exactly looked stellar this season. But things are perhaps far worse off the field when it comes to star safety Jabrill Peppers, who faces some incredibly serious and worrying accusations.
On Monday, Peppers pleaded not guilty in court after being arrested on Saturday on strangulation and drug possession charges. This stemmed from an incident on Saturday morning when a caller indicated there was an altercation between two people.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss via a statement from police officers in Braintree, Massachusetts, the alleged victim in this incident stated that Peppers woman hit her, choked her “at least six times,” took off her clothing, and put her outside. Police also said Peppers shoved the woman to the ground, shoved her head into a wall and put his hands around her neck to strangle her.
This is obviously an incredibly serious allegation that goes far beyond the football field. But as the legal process works out on this allegation, the NFL has decided to place Peppers on the Commissioner exempt list.
This of course means that Peppers will not be able to practice or play with the Patriots, which is a big blow to the Patriots on the field considering he is a captain for the team on defense.
Despite the significant role that Peppers does play for the Patriots, head coach Jerod Mayo is seemingly in support of this decision by the NFL considering the circumstances around the serious allegations Peppers is facing.
“I just want to be clear, any act of domestic violence is unacceptable for us as a team, whether you’re a player or staff member. We’re wholeheartedly against any type of domestic violence. I know the organization’s position, which I fully support,” Mayo said Wednesday. “With that being said, I do think that Jabrill has to continue to go through due process. We’ll see how that works out. The league has put him on the exempt list, and that will give us time to gather more information going forward. At this time, he is not in the building and we’ll talk about that at a later time. As a father of three daughters, I definitely understand the seriousness of the allegations and hopefully they’re not true.”
[ESPN]
