Josh Jacobs
NFL Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
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Josh Jacobs returned to the field for the Green Bay Packers last month after missing the first six games of the season. But his legal situation took another turn last week when police records detailing new abuse allegations against him were made public.
On Wednesday, the running back addressed those allegations for the first time. He denied them and said much of what’s being said about him isn’t true.
He also made it clear that he doesn’t expect to miss any more games. The NFL is still investigating, but Jacobs said he isn’t sitting around wondering whether he’ll be suspended.
The allegations against Jacobs
Jacobs was arrested in May after an altercation with his then-girlfriend at his home near Green Bay. In September, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. He was convicted of battery and fined $1,000.
The NFL placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list in August, and he missed the first six games of the season before being cleared to return in Week 7. Those six games would count toward any suspension.
Last week, records released by the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department included accounts from three women who accused Jacobs of physical and verbal abuse in incidents dating back to 2021. One woman also said he threatened to kill her. The women came forward after his May arrest.
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Jacobs’ attorneys denied all three accounts, calling them “old, are hearsay, and easily disproven” and describing the release as a “character assassination.”
The NFL has said it will review the new allegations as part of its ongoing investigation. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that the team will let the league complete its process.
On Wednesday, Jacobs finally addressed the new allegations himself.
‘It really feels like an attack on me’
Speaking to reporters in Green Bay, Jacobs called the new allegations an attack on his character, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
“It’s one of those things for me where it’s like, it really feels like an attack on me and who I am and my character,” Jacobs said. “And at the end of the day, there’s a lot of stuff being said about me that’s completely false — like, completely made up, and it’s like people just run with it. And I can’t change that.”
He said he has tried not to let the situation change who he is.
“It’s just one of those things where it’s like, OK, all I can do is try to be who I am and try not to let the negative moments change who I am. And that was the biggest thing for me throughout this whole process. I didn’t want to go to a place where I felt like I was closed off and I’m angry all the time because of what’s going on in my life,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs also said he isn’t worried about the NFL handing down more discipline.
“With all the evidence that we have and that they have at this point, it’s not one of those things where I’m sitting back on my hands like, ‘OK, am I going to play this week?'” Jacobs said. “It’s like, I kind of already know what it is, so it’s like . . . it’s really just up to them to make their final decision. But like I’m not worried about feeling like I’m going to miss any more time than I already have.”
Sophie Cunningham
Sophie Cunningham