Vikings release CB Jeff Gladney following indictment
Vikings corner was indicted on felony assault charge
By Brian Murphy, special to Purple Insider
A Texas grand jury on Tuesday indicted Jeff Gladney on an assault felony charge in connection with an April altercation with his then-girlfriend, charges that could land the exiled Vikings cornerback in prison for up to 10 years.
Gladney remains free on $10,000 bond pending trial. No court date has been scheduled.
The Vikings released Gladney on Tuesday afternoon. Here is their statement:
NFL Network reports that if Gladney is claimed by another team, he will immediately go on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.
PFF’s Brad Spielberger tweeted this pertaining to the Vikings’ salary cap situation regarding Gladney’s release:
Gladney’s indictment is for domestic violence assault and impeding the breath or circulation of a victim. Texas law says if a person assaults a family member or dating partner and “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly impeded the normal breathing or circulation of the blood by applying pressure to a person’s throat or neck” it increases punishment from up to 1 year in jail to 2 to 10 years in prison.
His ex-girlfriend also is suing Gladney, Minnesota’s 2020 first-round draft choice, for $1 million, accusing him of beating and choking her during a jealous rage before trying to buy her silence with jewelry and gift certificates.
The 22-year-old woman, identified as “Jane Doe” in the 15-page suit, said Gladney punched her in the face and ribs, pulled and wrapped her ponytail around her neck and choked her before she nearly passed out despite repeated pleas to stop. The attack, according to the complaint, lasted more than two hours April 1-2.
She challenged Gladney after discovering messages he had sent to another woman, for whom he had bought $700 Louis Vuitton sunglasses. Gladney’s ex was a passenger in his pickup truck when he grabbed her cellphone and tried to access her messages. Gladney, according to the lawsuit, repeatedly punched her in the ribs and slammed her head into the dashboard on his way to a residence before she eventually escaped and flagged down a passing motorist to call police.
“Having been beaten for over two hours, thrown around like a rag doll, and fearing for her life, she only had one thought at that point, no matter the risk: try to get out of that car before (Gladney) forced her into the apartment where her fate would have been even more perilous,” the complaint reads. “(She) knew this was her last chance to survive.”
The allegations offer more violent details about the confrontation between Gladney and the Dallas woman, who said she met the then-Vikings rookie online in September before the relationship blossomed during the 2020 season.
Police filed charges against Gladney, who turned himself into authorities three days later and posted $10,000 bond.
Minnesota’s 2020 first-round draft choice did not participate in Minnesota’s offseason workouts or mandatory minicamp. He also has not practiced with the team this week during training camp, although he recently answered the door at his St. Paul house last week and declined to comment about his case.
Gladney also is accused in the lawsuit of showing up unannounced to the woman’s Dallas residence July 25 “uninvited, and forced (her), against her will, to delete threads of text messages and screenshots of text messages.” The lawsuit accuses Gladney of assault and battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence and destroying evidence.
The suit also says Gladney tried to bribe her with a $1,000 Tiffany necklace and a spa gift certificate to remain silent.
Dallas County prosecutors presented their case Thursday. Gladney’s attorney, Morris Overstreet, and his agent, Brian Overstreet, have not returned several telephone calls and emails seeking comment.
Owner Mark Wilf told reporters Tuesday morning, “Obviously, allegations like these are very disturbing and something that's concerning to us as ownership and to our organization. Right now, our GM and our coach, and we're talking to the league and really are working through to understand this better. And as we get more information in the coming hours, we're let you know where we go on this. But obviously the allegations are very disturbing.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, “The matter remains under review of the personal conduct policy and we continue to monitor all law enforcement developments.”
Gladney has not made any public statements except for an Instagram post, which has since been taken down, that said, “Still hard to believe this girl tryna ruin my life all because i wouldn’t be with her…(sic).”
Gladney started 15 of 16 games for the Vikings last season after being selected 31st overall out of Texas Christian University.
This story was updated to include recent comments from owner Mark Wilf and the news of Gladney’s release.
Yesh, it is disturbing to read about the allegations. Selfishly, I hope that this thing is just resolved quickly and justly so that it doesn't hang over the Vikings season (though I appreciate the thorough reporting here so that we are informed).
That said, some legal background (this isn't my area of expertise, but this is the general stuff that most lawyers know) so that everyone can know what we are reading out:
Grand jury indictments are very different from an actual criminal trial. They are required in Texas for all felony charges (unless waived by the defendant), you don't need a unanimous verdict to indict (rather you only need 9 out of 12 jurors to agree), you indict on a lower standard of guilt than you do for the actual criminal trial (only need "probable cause" to indict, which means that the grand jury indicts if they think that something is probably true, whereas you need "beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict), and most importantly, there is not even a defense attorney present for a grand jury trial to provide a different narrative (but basically the question is whether the prosecution can possibly convict if all of their evidence/assertions are presented uncontested). For that reason, the famous quip (by a former New York State chief judge - basically the "highest" judge of New York State) is that a grand jury would "indict a ham sandwich" if given a chance, as it is relatively easy to get an indictment.
And no, it doesn't inherently mean anything that the Gladney's ex is suing Gladney in civil court. This is common for various reasons, first and foremost being that there is a lower standard to successfully sue a person than to get a criminal conviction (hence why O.J. Simpson was criminally acquitted but civilly found guilty of murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman). While certainly there are instances where a victim will settle a civil case and then refuse to cooperate with the prosecution (such that the criminal case is dropped), there are also plenty of times where a victim will strongly pursue both a civil case and a criminal case, because, e.g., they both want the perpetrator to be in jail and also want to be compensated by the perpetrator. Basically, we really can't and shouldn't take anything from the fact that the Gladney's ex here sued Gladney on top of the indictment.
Great story Brian. This individual should never be able to step on another Nfl field for the rest of his life and the same goes with DeShawn Watson.