New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said this week that if the disturbing allegations against safety Jabrill Peppers involving an alleged incident of domestic violence are true, he will be cut from the team.
But the longtime NFL owner cautioned that the team will wait for due process.
New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers appears in Quincy, Mass., District Court for his arraignment on Monday, Oct. 7. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
During an appearance on the popular radio morning show “The Breakfast Club,” Kraft said the team is performing its own investigation in addition to the league’s before making a decision regarding Peppers’ future with the Patriots after he was arrested last weekend over charges including assault, strangulation and drug possession.
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“We’re living in a world now with so much on social media and so much that’s reported, it’s unfair in these kind of situations,” Kraft began. “When you read the thing initially, it turns your stomach. But we’ve learned — and I don’t know the facts in this case and [Patriots coach Jerod Mayo] called me, we spoke about it — once he goes on the commissioner’s exempt list, they do their independent checking. We’re doing ours. And if what is reported is true, he’s gone.”
Peppers, 29, is accused of attacking his girlfriend after she reportedly received a phone call while the two were in bed. According to court documents, police were called to a home early Saturday morning over reports of an altercation.
The documents alleged that Peppers pushed the woman to the ground, shoved her head into a wall and attempted to strangle her. Court documents state that the woman told law enforcement that Peppers had allegedly choked her at least six times before forcing her out of the home.
New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (5) takes the field with teammates before the game against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field. (Tommy Gilligan-USA Today Sports)
Police also claimed to have found a clear plastic bag at the home containing a white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine.
PATRIOTS’ JABRILL PEPPERS HITS COMMISSIONER’S EXEMPT LIST AFTER ARREST
Peppers appeared in court Monday where he pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class “B” substance believed to be cocaine.
Amid the allegations, Peppers was initially allowed to return to the team’s training facilities, but he was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list on Wednesday.
“Any act of domestic violence is unacceptable for us,” Mayo said Wednesday. “With that being said, I do think that Jabrill has to go through the system, has to continue to go through due process. We’ll see how that works out.”
Kraft echoed that sentiment, adding that “there have been some suggestions that this was a setup and what’s reported is not accurate.”
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft before the AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. (Rich Barnes-USA Today Sports)
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Kraft said that he has “personally” experienced something similar and wants to wait for the investigation and facts to play out. But if the allegations prove to be true, he’ll make no exception.
“I have a saying I used with all my key people: In important decisions in life, you measure nine times and you cut once. And I think in this case, if what’s been reported is true, he’s gone, but we want to get the facts.”
Peppers’ attorney, Marc Brofsky, said in court on Monday that the evidence “sheds real doubt on the allegations, including videotaped evidence.” Kraft said he has not seen the evidence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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