The San Francisco 49ers have ousted defensive tackle Ray McDonald (pictured), just hours after an a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted. According to Ray’s team general manager, Trent Baalke, the decision to cut McDonald from the franchise was due to an apparent “pattern of poor decision-making,” according to ESPN.
The San Jose Police Department claims that an area hospital notified police late Tuesday night that a woman was seeking treatment and that detectives had searched McDonald’s San Jose home. The unnamed victim alleged that she had been possibly sexually assaulted on Tuesday and based on a preliminary investigation by authorities, a search warrant was secured and served at McDonald’s home.
SEE ALSO: Deion Sanders’ Ex Receives Jail Time For Violating Divorce Agreement
So far, no arrests have been made, nor have any charges been filed against McDonald for the most recent allegations.
The 30-year-old player is however, no stranger to police investigation. Four years ago, McDonald was arrested for drunk driving. In May of this year police were summoned to McDonald’s residence in response to an altercation involving the gridiron player and a woman.
According to police, an argument took place, the woman grabbed a gun that was registered to McDonald and “held it at her side.” There were no arrests, and eventually, the woman put the firearm away then left the residence without further incidence.
This past summer, McDonald was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence involving his fiancé but was not charged.
In the eyes of the team, enough is apparently enough and according to Baalke, McDonald’s pattern was clear:
“We certainly believe in due process, and have demonstrated that over time. But when it becomes a pattern of poor decision-making, which it has in this case, it becomes a time that it leaves you with no other choice than the one we made today.”
McDonald’s latest alleged assault investigation is covered by under the NFL’s new conduct policy. The policy was developed after an extensive series of pow-wows with experts and others inside and outside of the NFL, including current and former players, the NFL Players Association, domestic violence/sexual assault experts and advocates, law enforcement officials, academic experts and a host of others.
The NFL has had a formal policy and program addressing off-field conduct since 1997 that was enhanced in 2007. The new policy significantly builds on the foundation of the previous programs.
The League is definitely no longer tolerating off-the-field conduct by its players that is detrimental to the image of the organization and Baalke tells ESPN, “If this was one incident, we would be standing up here talking about due process, like we have multiple times, in multiple other situations. But this is just a pattern of decision-making that Ray has demonstrated over a period of time that, once again, it’s no longer going to be tolerated.”
Meanwhile, it is not known yet whether McDonald will file a grievance over his firing.
