May 25--Chicago Bears defensive lineman Ray McDonald has been arrested on charges of domestic violence and child endangerment, NBC Bay Area reported Monday morning, citing confirmation by Santa Clara, Calif., police.
The Sacramento Bee reported that McDonald was arrested at 7 a.m. Monday in San Jose, Calif., according to the Santa Clara police department. The Bee reported that McDonald was arrested at a house belonging to former San Francisco 49ers teammate Justin Smith, according to property records.
The Bears did not immediately respond to a request to comment Monday morning.
Bears chairman George McCaskey initially vetoed general manager Ryan Pace's request to sign McDonald in March because of McDonald's multiple recent run-ins with the law involving allegations by women who claimed he assaulted him.
However, McCaskey changed his mind after McDonald flew to Chicago and met with him, and after he spoke to McDonald's parents via telephone. The Bears signed McDonald on March 24 to one-year, $1.5 million contract that included no guaranteed money.
In discussing the signing, McCaskey said the pattern and frequency of McDonald's behavior issue were most troublesome.
"I told him that my assessment was 'bad decision-making,' allowing himself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or not withdrawing from a situation at the appropriate time," McCaskey said. "And I told him, if he's to remain a Bear, that needs to improve. And he pledged to me that it would."
The San Francisco 49ers released McDonald on Dec. 17, with general manager Trent Baalke citing a "pattern of poor decision making."
McDonald, 30, was arrested Aug. 31 on suspicion of felony domestic violence but was not charged. In December, a woman accused him of sexual assault, and San Jose police have yet to charge him or clear him.
