Former NFL San Francisco 49er Kwame Harris (pictured) was charged with felony domestic violence and assault for allegedly beating up his ex-boyfriend, Dimitri Geier. The charges stem from an altercation that took place last August outside a Menlo Park, Calif., restaurant, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Harris and Geier, who used to room together, had allegedly been on-again, off-again lovers for more than a two-year period. Reportedly, the pair’s argument began over some spilled soy sauce. The argument then took an ugly turn when the pair stepped outside of the eatery and Harris allegedly tried to pull down Geier’s pants, accusing him of stealing his underwear.
The war of words turned into fisticuffs with 36-year-old Geier on the losing end, suffering several facial fractures that required surgery. Harris is maintaining his innocence and has stated that he struck Geier in self-defense, but Harris reportedly has a physical edge over Geier because he is 6’7,” 240 pounds compared to his former companion’s frame of 6’1,” 220 pounds.
The 30-year-old gridiron offensive tackle, who played five seasons with the 49ers and one season with the Oakland Raiders, has never come out of the closet publicly. Even though the NFL seems like a particularly difficult place to openly come out as a gay man, reports indicate that approximately 3 percent of the NFL’s players are homosexual, and NFL players and teams are becoming increasingly accepting of those who are openly gay.
In fact, the 49ers are considered to be “gay-friendly.”
Last August, the team were first in the league to produce a video, “It Gets Better,” that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths.
Watch “It Gets Better” here:
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Meanwhile, a pretrial hearing took place on Monday and a San Mateo, Calif., judge set a late April trial date for Harris.
