The once promising career of running back Derrius Guice is in serious trouble.
On Friday, the Washington Football Team released the former LSU star, but it was the details surrounding his release that put jaws on the floor.
According to the Washington Post, the 23-year-old was arrested on domestic violence-related charges that included one count of strangulation, three counts of assault and battery and one count of destruction of property. Guice turned himself in at about 5 p.m. EST at the Loudoun Adult Detention Center in Leesburg, Va., And was released on tape shortly thereafter at about 7:30 p.m.
“This afternoon we learned that there were multiple charges filed against Derrius,” the Washington football team wrote in a statement Friday. “While checking the nature of these charges and following internal talks, we decided to release Derrius immediately.”
Yet as dire as this situation may sound, the upload documents, filed in Loudoun County District Court on Monday, paint a much more disturbing picture of the attacks that took place on February 14, March 13 and April 17 at Guice’s home. (Trigger warning: the following contains graphic details of an alleged attack):
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From the Washington Post:
Derrius Guice strangled his girlfriend until she was unconscious in his Ashburn home in March, according to charge documents. When she woke up, the NFL player cried and tapped her.
The woman, who was only identified in court documents with initials, told authorities that Guice also pressed her and pulled her hair during the meeting, according to the charge documents filed Monday in Loudoun County General District Court.
After the March incident, the woman had to leave to catch a flight at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, according to the cargo documents. She told investigators she almost had and did not look in the mirror until she arrived for a layover in Chicago. The woman took a photo of her injuries in a toilet. She received bruises on her neck, which also had colored spots on them.
The friend of Guice also told authorities that the footballer pushed her into the bedroom bathroom in February, causing an injury to her left thumb, according to cargo documents. The nail eventually fell off due to a baby blood grease.
In response to the charges, Guice’s attorney, Peter D. Greenspun, issued a statement condemning both investigators for their failure to properly investigate the allegations.
“Derrius will defend these prosecutors in court, where a full assessment of the allegations will take place, as opposed to actions of local law and the Washington Football Team that are least accepted, in direct conflict with any sense of honesty and due process, “he said.
In his first public comments on the situation, Washington coach Ron Rivera acknowledged that releasing Guice was not an easy decision.
“Every time you have to release a very talented player, it’s always a difficult decision,” Rivera said. ‘We take these allegations very, very seriously and we had to make a decision. I’ve talked [Washington’s] players yesterday that I made a decision, I believe, was in the best interest of our organization and if it was the right decision, we will benefit from it and if it will not be up to me. I will take full responsibility for making sure we do things the right way. ‘
Selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the great upside of Guice, efficiency in short yardage situations and his second gear in the open field had scouts salivating. But questions about his endurance and maturity caused him to run into the second round.
In two seasons with Washington, Guice missed his entire rookie year with a torn ACL, only to tear his meniscus during his second campaign.
It’s far too early to tell if he’s ever going to play in the NFL another time (for each Ray Rice, there is a Kareem Hunt still contribute to a team), but this serves as the final blow to a Washington team that has had the worst offseason ever.
In July, it was the team forced to give up his racist name to FedEx, PepsiCo, Amazon and other business partners finally draw a line in the sand, and later that month, 15 women accused former employees of sexual abuse and verbal abuse.
But let’s the really victim in all this: The survived of alleged abuse of Guice. I commend her for her courage to come forward and hope she can achieve the justice she seeks.
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