Just three days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell created stronger sanctions for players involved in domestic violence, 49ers starting defensive end Ray McDonald was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of felony domestic violence charges involving his fiancée.
He is now in position to incur the commissioner’s wrath in addition to whatever comes his way through the legal process.
If the NFL’s investigation of the events verifies the police report, expect Goodell to quickly hit McDonald with a substantial suspension − he is in line for more than the new standard of six games for a first offense because the alleged victim is pregnant, according to media reports from police. And it’s likely to really send out an undeniably strong message to the other 2,015 players under contract, Goodell will do it before the case is adjudicated.
As McDonald sat in Santa Clara County Jail after he was arrested early Sunday morning − he later posted $25,000 bail — he had plenty of time to study the memo Goodell instructed clubs to distribute to players last Thursday outlining the new disciplinary standards he set for any NFL personnel involved in domestic violence.
Goodell beat himself up for giving Ravens running back Ray Rice just a two-game suspension for a domestic-violence incident in February at an Atlantic City hotel. Rice was caught on video dragging his fiancée, now wife, Janay Palmer unconscious out of an elevator. Goodell wanted to suspend Rice six games, but felt constrained by the precedent set by previous cases. He reluctantly settled on two games.
So, he rewrote the domestic violence portion of the personal conduct policy: Six games for a first offense, banishment for life for a second with the right to appeal for reinstatement after one year.
“Mitigating circumstances will be considered, and more severe discipline will be imposed if there are aggravating circumstances such as the presence or use of a weapon, choking, repeated striking, or when the act is committed against a pregnant woman or in the presence of a child,” Goodell wrote in the memo to the players.
According to the police, McDonald’s fiancée is 10 weeks pregnant and reportedly had bruises on her neck and arms.
The report said police arrived at McDonald’s home in San Jose at 2:48 a.m. PDT Sunday. There was a party for his 30th birthday. McDonald was booked at 5:30 a.m. for “inflicting injury on a spouse or cohabitant.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/49ers-defensive-ray-macdonald-arrested-domestic-violence-againast-pregnant-fiancee-article-1.1923046#ixzz3CJDuC5Do