MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney was indicted by a grand jury in Dallas County (Texas) on Tuesday on a felony assault charge from an altercation involving a former girlfriend in April.
The Vikings released Gladney later Tuesday.
"We take these matters very seriously and condemn all forms of domestic violence," the team statement said. "Due to the ongoing legal nature of this matter, we are unable to provide further comment."
Gladney turned himself in to the Dallas County Jail on April 5 after an arrest warrant was issued on a third-degree family violence assault charge. He posted a $10,000 bond and was released.
At the time, the Dallas police department said in a statement that Gladney, 24, and a 22-year-old woman "were involved in a verbal altercation over content in a cell phone. The altercation escalated, at which time Mr. Gladney physically assaulted the victim."
The indictment states that on or about April 2 Gladney caused bodily injury to the woman and impeded her normal breathing and circulation of blood by grabbing and squeezing her neck and throat, striking and pulling her with his hands, and by forcing her "to and against a vehicle window."
Gladney has not commented publicly on the allegations, but he did post on Instagram in June, "Still hard to believe this girl tryna ruin my life because I wouldn't be with her ... What makes it worse is the actual truth will never be out there."
On Tuesday, Gladney's attorney Morris Overstreet said he was "a little surprised" the grand jury chose to file an indictment in the case, but added he plans to go forward with Gladney's defense. "The district attorney's office has to continually evaluate their cases and see if it's a case they want to try," he said. "And so we're just going to wait and see, be available, defend what we have to defend and see how it moves forward."
An initial court appearance in Gladney's case has not yet been filed in Dallas County court.
Gladney is also the subject of a civil suit, filed July 26, in which the woman is seeking more than $1 million in damages. She accused him of assaulting her for more than two hours in his truck and attempting to "bribe, manipulate and threaten" her into silence about the incident.
Gladney, a first-round pick in 2020 out of Texas Christian, played in all 16 games last year, starting 15. The cornerback remains on the Vikings' roster, but he did not take part in their offseason program, and was not present for the start of training camp last week.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf had just heard the news about Gladney's indictment and twice called the allegations "obviously very disturbing."
According to the NFL's personal conduct policy, violations that involve felony assault or family violence are subject a baseline suspension without pay of six games for the first offense, "with possible upward or downward adjustments based on any aggravating or mitigating factors."
A player who is not charged with a crime, or is charged but not convicted, may still be found to have violated the league policy "if the credible evidence establishes that he engaged in prohibited conduct."
