The rule of the law is a suspect is innocent until proven guilty in court. That’s not how Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver felt when he was arrested this offseason, even though he was proven innocent before the situation even came close to getting inside a court room.
As things went, the 22-year-old fresh off his first season in the NFL, was arrested for DWI and unlawful possession of a weapon. He took field tests, including a breathalyzer, which proved he was sober. Still, he was put in handcuffs and brought to jail. Reports even surfaced that Oliver had an open container in the car when arrested, which also proved to be untrue.
Clearly an experience that can be considered life-changing, Oliver reflected on what happened on Monday via video conference from the Bills training camp. For good reason, Oliver has reason to be unhappy with the way things turned out.
“I didn’t work my whole life, walk in a straight line my whole life to be put in a jump suit,” Oliver said. “I felt violated.”
But things didn’t exactly get better from there. Just hours after getting out of that outfit he was forced into, Oliver had meetings with the Bills. He said he explained what happened to coaches and teammates and just because of the nature of the beast, Oliver said he wasn’t sure they believed him at first.
“I felt like I was guilty until proven innocent and not innocent until proven guilty,” Oliver said.
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