Earlier, we discussed the court documents obtained by TMZ Sports reporting that Chicago Bears defensive end Mario Edwards has been charged with assault in North Carolina.
The charges stem from an incident on October 17 with a woman who says she was dating Edwards at the time. If you’ll recall, the Bears were in Charlotte that weekend to play the Carolina Panthers. You can read what’s available in the TMZ report. But also know that this is a legal process that is only starting to play out.
As for the Bears, they’ve released a statement regarding the situation:
The #Bears’ statement on Mario Edwards situation: “We are aware of the situation involving Mario Edwards, Jr. We are doing our due diligence to thoroughly review and understand the facts. We take any allegations of this nature very seriously, both internally and with the NFL.”
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) December 15, 2020
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio chips in with a report that the NFL is also reviewing the allegations against Edwards. Peter Schaffer, Edwards’ agent, told PFT: “Mario abhors violence against women. I’m proud of the way he responded. He has been taught to deescalate and defuse situations, and walk away.” Edwards denies the allegations, and the police report cited by TMZ lists Edwards as a victim (emphasis mine):
In fact, Edwards told cops he’s the real victim — claiming the woman was the aggressor.
We’ve obtained a police report from the night in question where Edwards is also listed as a victim. In the narrative section, cops say they were called in reference to a woman hitting a man and scratching his forehead.
With the team and league in the review process, PFT offers up how the league could handle the situation in the meantime. Florio offers up the possibility of Edwards landing on the Commissioner-Exempt List on a paid suspension. Once the situation is resolved, an unpaid suspension could loom depending on what is found in the process. In other words, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and update when more information emerges.