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By Elijah Stewart
The NFL has had a rough year off the field and Ray Rice isn’t the only player to blame for the NFL’s recent troubles. Reporter Elijah Stewart has the story.
According to the NFL Arrest Database from U-T San Diego, 45 players have been arrested in 2014; of those cases four were violent domestic disputes. Since commissioner Roger Goodell came into office in 2006, reportedly 56 players who have been linked to domestic disputes have only been suspended a total of 13 games before the Rice incident. Here are the domestic cases from 2014 and how they’ve played out.
Ray Rice
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Date: 2/15/14
Charge: Aggravated assault after punching his then-fianceé Janay Palmer in the face twice during a dispute in an Atlantic City Casino elevator. Rice was accepted into a diversionary program that would allow him to clear his criminal record of the charges related to the incident with Palmer.
Current Status: Rice was released by the Ravens in September and is currently suspended from the NFL indefinitely.
Greg Hardy
Team: Carolina Panthers
Date: 5/3/2014
Charge: Convicted in July on two counts of misdemeanor charges for assaulting and threatening an ex-girlfriend. During the dispute, Hardy allegedly threw the woman into a bath tug, dragged her by the hair into the living room and launched her onto a couch covered with assault rifles. Hardy was sentenced to a 18-month probation and 60-day jail sentence suspended until jury trial in November.
Current Status: Hardy is currently not officially disciplined by the NFL. But after the Rice saga, the Panthers elected to put Hardy on the NFL’s “exempt-list” until his legal matters are straightened out.
Ray McDonald
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Date: 8/31/14
Charge: Arrested on suspicion of felony domestic abuse after a dispute with his pregnant fianceé. According to police, McDonald’s fiancee suffered bruises on her neck and arm after the incident. McDonald called 911 after his fianceé grabbed one of McDonald’s firearms.
Current Status: McDonald continues to play for the 49ers while prosecutors continue to investigate the incident.
Jonathan Dwyer
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Date: 9/17/14
Charge: One felony count of aggravated assault and eight misdemeanor counts. Dwyer is accused of assaulting his wife during two separate incidents. Dwyer allegedly head-butted his wife after she refused to have sex with him; his wife suffered a fractured nose during the incident.The next day Dwyer reportedly punched his wife in the face. Dwyer was deactivated from all team activites by the Cardinals.
Current Status: Dwyer remains deactivated by the team during the legal process. Coach Bruce Arians has said Dwyer will be released by the team if he is found guilty.