5 minSports
Josh Jacobs' lawyers call police release of old abuse claims character assassination
Attorneys for Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs say newly released police summaries of years-old abuse allegations are unverified and are threatening his career.
Attorneys for Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs have accused police of releasing unverified allegations of domestic abuse that they say amount to a "character assassination" and are unfairly threatening their client's career. In a statement released Sunday afternoon by attorneys David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III, the lawyers argued that the accounts are old, rest on hearsay and can be disproven.
"The three accounts are old, are hearsay, and easily disproven, yet released to the media by police without any investigation to determine whether they were accurate or contradicted by evidence," the statement reads. "Josh is answering them in detail because of the character assassination that is occurring, unfairly threatening his career."
The dispute follows a statement from the NFL on Saturday that it is reviewing previously unreported allegations that Jacobs physically abused multiple women. Those allegations came to light during the league's investigation into a May 23 incident, which was widely reported. The NFL had already been investigating Jacobs for that incident, in which he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property connected to a domestic incident with an ex-girlfriend in Green Bay. Jacobs was convicted of the battery charge in September and spent six games on the commissioner's exempt list this season before returning to the Packers.
The Packers have also been in contact with the Indianapolis Colts about a possible trade for running back Jonathan Taylor, a development the team would be unlikely to pursue if it expected to keep Jacobs. That context has made Jacobs' future with the team a live question, and the new allegations add to the pressure on his standing in the league.
The Hobart-Lawrence Police Department's released file, as described by the attorneys, includes summaries of three telephone interviews describing events in 2021 and 2022. "Josh Jacobs denies all three accounts and has a substantial body of tangible evidence to back up his assertions," the statement said. The lawyers argued that the file contains only phone interviews conducted years after the events, with no additional investigation, and that Jacobs was never given an opportunity to present evidence in response.
The attorneys described the claims of the three women in detail from their client's perspective. One woman made a claim to the NFL, which reviewed it and decided no action was warranted, according to the statement, which says Jacobs has retained evidence supporting that decision. Another woman made a claim in 2021, but only after Jacobs called Las Vegas police to his home to report her for misconduct; the statement says a police report written that day effectively undermined her claims and no further action was taken after she was removed from his home.
According to NBC26 in Wisconsin, which reported on the police file, a third woman told police that Jacobs slapped her in the face, threw her onto a bed and to the floor, spit on her and grabbed her throat in January 2022. "Josh denies any physical altercation with the third woman," the statement said. The attorneys say she first contacted Jacobs and asked to visit, stayed at his Las Vegas home, and left the following evening in a car she ordered herself, adding that the ride receipt in the police file is consistent with Jacobs' account of how the visit ended.
The attorneys also stressed the legal outcome of the May 23 case. "Josh took responsibility for what happened in May," they said. "He entered into an agreement with prosecutors for two misdemeanors, and he is meeting the court's requirements." The statement frames the convictions and agreement with prosecutors as the only established history that should matter, while the older, uncorroborated accounts remain contested.
11
