Tag: Legal

Chad Kelly denies harassment allegations

In a since-deleted tweet, Chad Kelly wrote he “absolutely” denied harassment allegations. The QB also plans to “vigorously” defend himself.

Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly has denied allegations of harassment about a week after he was named in a lawsuit.

“I am shocked by the allegations which have been made against me,” Kelly wrote Friday in a since-deleted tweet. “I absolutely deny these events and intend to vigorously defend myself and will be seeking the dismissal of the action.”

Some backstory details from TSN’s Rick Westhead: “A former Toronto Argonauts strength and conditioning coach has filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Canadian Football League team and quarterback Chad Kelly, alleging the league’s highest-paid player and reigning Most Outstanding Player harassed her and that the team fired her after she rejected his advances.”

The CFL announced an investigation earlier this week.

“The CFL is committed to creating healthy and positive working and playing environments for all those associated with the league and its member clubs,” the league said in a statement on Wednesday.

“​We take the allegations against the Toronto Argonauts and Mr. Kelly very seriously and we have opened an investigation in accordance with the league’s Gender-based Violence Policy.”

Kelly, 29, was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL draft. He was later cut by the Broncos after he was arrested on suspension of criminal trespassing in 2018.

After being released by Denver, Kelly spent two years with the Indianapolis Colts from 2019-2020 and then moved to the CFL in 2022. He was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring 31 touchdowns in 2023.

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Prosecutors drop charges against Broncos DL Eyioma Uwazurike

Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against Eyioma Uwazurike, but the Broncos’ defensive lineman remains suspended by the NFL.

The NFL handed down an indefinite suspension to Denver Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike last year for breaking the league’s gambling policy.

In addition to the NFL’s suspension, Uwazurike also faced potential legal repercussions. On Friday, the criminal charges were dropped due to the investigation “exceeding [the] scope of permitted use of tracking software,” according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

The criminal charges have been dropped, but Uwazurike remains suspended and away from the team. Broncos coach Sean Payton criticized the NFL’s stipulations for suspended players last summer.

“[W]e’re going to send them home for a year, where they can’t be around,” Payton said in an interview with USA TODAY‘s Jarrett Bell last July. “The idea that you just go away — shame on us.”

Uwazurike will be eligible to petition for reinstatement on July 24. There’s no guarantee the NFL will grant a reinstatement, but the criminal charges being dropped could, in theory, make Uwazurike more likely to return in 2024.

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Eyioma Uwazurike gambling details: Everything we know

Eyioma Uwazurike is accused of betting on Broncos games he played in and tampering with records, punishable by up to two years in prison.

Last week, the NFL suspended Denver Broncos defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike indefinitely for breaking the league’s gambling policy.

There has been some confusion about the details of that policy — players can bet on other sports if they’re not at an NFL-related location, causing some misunderstandings — but there were no misunderstandings in Uwazurike’s case. The NFL specifically announced last week that the defensive end was suspended for gambling on NFL games.

While suspended, Uwazurike won’t be allowed to have any contact with the Broncos, a stipulation that has been criticized by Denver coach Sean Payton.

“When they want to kill somebody…when I got suspended, it was, ‘You can’t have no contact with anybody in the NFL,’” Payton said in an interview with USA TODAY last week. “Do we want these young men to still have a chance to learn from their mistakes?”

So what exactly happened with Uwazurike? More details have emerged in recent days. Here is everything we know so far.

Ex-Broncos RB Lance Ball arrested on charges of domestic violence, assault

Former Broncos RB Lance Ball was arrested Monday on charges of domestic violence, assault in the second degree and criminal mischief.

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Former Denver Broncos running back Lance Ball was arrested by Douglas County deputies on Monday on charges of domestic violence, assault in the second degree and criminal mischief, the Douglas County Sheriff’s office said in a press release Tuesday.

Here is part of the original press release:

Douglas County deputies responded to a residence near Venneford Ranch Road and S. University Boulevard in Highlands Ranch for a report of a physical domestic disturbance. A neighbor reported that a victim ran over to her house, bleeding from the head. When deputies arrived, the victim told them Lance Ball, DOB 06/19/1985, started an argument when he returned from golf. Ball had allegedly been drinking while golfing. During the argument, Ball allegedly strangled the victim, broke home furnishings, removed a watch from the victim’s wrist and threw it across the backyard into a street. He also allegedly threw a cell phone, which hit the victim in the head and caused a significant wound. The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Ball, 37, was then arrested. He will appear in court on Friday.

Ball played college football at Maryland and entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the St. Louis Rams in 2008. After brief stints with the Rams, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, Ball joined the Broncos in 2009.

In three seasons in Denver, Ball totaled 943 yards from scrimmage and scored four touchdowns in 41 games. He was cut by the Broncos after training camp in 2013 and has been out of the NFL since then.

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New Cowboys DE Dante Fowler ordered to pay $280K in damages in 2017 battery case

A jury ordered the damages stemming from a case in which the then-Jaguar knocked a 55-year-old man to the ground after a traffic incident. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The 2022 Dallas Cowboys will be Dante Fowler’s fourth NFL team in eight seasons. The move represents a fresh start on the field, but the defensive end is still paying- quite literally- for trouble caused at the first stop in his pro journey.

A civil jury in Florida has ordered Fowler to pay $280,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to a St. Petersburg man he attacked after a traffic accident near-miss in 2017. The story was reported Thursday by Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

The original arrest report contends that, after failing to come to a full stop at an intersection, Fowler nearly hit another vehicle. A resident of a nearby apartment complex who witnessed the close call shouted something to Fowler. The Jaguars defender- then entering his third season- got out of his vehicle and struck the 55-year-old bystander, stepped on his eyeglasses, and threw his grocery bag into a lake.

Fowler apologized publicly when Jaguars training camp got underway about a week after the incident, saying, “I just wanted to let people know and everybody know that’s not me as a person. I’m a better person than that, and it won’t happen again.”

The victim claimed he “suffered a torn rotator cuff and exacerbation of cervical spine injuries, among other injuries” from being knocked to the ground by the former first-round draft pick.

The ex-Gator pleaded no contest in 2018 to misdemeanor battery, criminal mischief, and petty theft in the matter. He was suspended for the 2018 Jaguars season opener.

Even with this week’s ruling by a jury after a four-day trial in St. Petersburg, Fowler is not in line for any further punishment from the NFL in the case.

The 27-year-old’s recent deal with Dallas reunites him with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, his DC for one season at Florida and his head coach for part of a season in Atlanta.

Fowler said after his signing that Quinn “knows the ins and outs of me as a football player. I know he’s going to get the best from me.”

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NFL releases statement on Brian Flores’ lawsuit

“We will defend against these claims, which are without merit,” the NFL said in response to Brian Flores’ lawsuit.

Brian Flores has filed a lawsuit against the NFL for racism in hiring with the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos listed as defendants. Flores accused the Broncos in the lawsuit of interviewing him in 2019 merely to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule.

The NFL responded to that lawsuit with the following statement:

The NFL and our clubs are deeply committed to ensuring equitable employment practices and continue to make progress in providing equitable opportunities throughout our organizations. Diversity is core to everything we do, and there are few issues on which our clubs and our internal leadership team spend more time. We will defend against these claims, which are without merit.

The Broncos interviewed Flores for their head coach opening in 2019 after firing Vance Joseph. Denver ended up hiring Vic Fangio, and Flores took a head coach job with the Miami Dolphins. Fangio was fired by the Broncos and Flores was fired by the Dolphins in January.

Denver general manager George Paton interviewed 10 candidates to replace Fangio last month, opting to hire Nathaniel Hackett.

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