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The police arrested the N.F.L. cornerback on Wednesday morning. They said he had fled the scene of a single-car crash and had tried to enter his in-laws’ house by force.Richard Sherman, the free-agent cornerback who is one of the most visible stars in the N.F.L., was arrested early Wednesday morning in Redmond, Wash., and booked into jail after the police said he tried to break down a door to enter the house of his in-laws. More
Chauncey Billups was announced as Portland’s head coach on Tuesday as a team executive dodged and deflected questions about a 1997 sexual assault accusation against Billups.At a news conference on Tuesday, the top basketball executive for the Portland Trail Blazers dodged or deflected questions about a 1997 sexual assault accusation against Chauncey Billups, whom he was announcing as the team’s new head coach. A public relations official for Portland cut off a questioner entirely, and the executive, Neil Olshey, would not elaborate on an independent investigation into the incident he said the team had commissioned.Billups’s hire has elicited criticism both from within and outside Portland’s fan base because of the accusation, which was made during Billups’s 1997-98 rookie season as a player with the Boston Celtics.Olshey, the Blazers’ president of basketball operations, introduced Billups on Tuesday and said that he had “been successful at everything he’s done in his life, on and off the court.”He also said that the Blazers “took the allegations very seriously” and that “other N.B.A. organizations, business partners, television networks, regional networks have all enthusiastically in the past and present offered Chauncey high-profile positions within their organizations.” Billups is currently finishing his first season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, who are in the Western Conference finals, and he was previously an analyst for ESPN.Olshey said the team-initiated investigation was done with Billups’s support. “The findings of that incident corroborated Chauncey’s recollection of the events that nothing non-consensual happened,” he said. “We stand by Chauncey. Everyone in the organization.”Neil Olshey, right, Portland’s president of basketball operations, said the team commissioned an independent investigation of the sexual assault accusation against Billups, left.Craig Mitchelldyer/Associated PressWhen asked by a reporter to give more details on the investigation, Olshey declined.“So that’s proprietary, Sean,” Olshey said, referring to the N.B.A. reporter Sean Highkin. “So you’re just going to have to take our word that we hired an experienced firm that ran an investigation that gave us the results we’ve already discussed.”Jason Quick, a reporter for The Athletic, followed up later to ask Billups about the impact the incident had on him, after Billups had said that “not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how every decision that we make could have a profound impact on a person’s life.” Olshey took a sip of bottled water and appeared to glance at a public relations official for the organization, who then cut off Quick, though Billups appeared willing to respond.“Jason, we appreciate your question,” the official said. “We’ve addressed this. It’s been asked and answered. Happy to move on to the next question here.”The 1997 accusation came from a woman who said in a lawsuit that on the night of Nov. 9, following an evening at a Boston comedy club, she was raped by Billups, Ron Mercer and Michael Irvin — who is of no relation to the former N.F.L. player — at Antoine Walker’s home. Walker and Mercer were Billups’s teammates in Boston, while Irvin was Walker’s roommate. No criminal charges were filed. Billups and Mercer settled with the woman for an undisclosed amount in 2000, and Walker also settled a lawsuit with the woman soon after. Billups denied any nonconsensual contact, but said he had sex with her.The lawsuit did not affect Billups’s career prospects. It rarely came up, if at all. He played 17 years in the N.B.A., made five All-Star teams and won the N.B.A. finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2004.“I learned at a very young age as a player, and not only a player, but a young man, a young adult that every decision has consequences,” Billups said on Tuesday, in addressing the accusation, “and that’s led to some really, really healthy but tough conversations that I’ve had to have with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time in 1997, and my daughters about what actually happened and about what they may have to read about me in the news.”Damian Lillard, Portland’s star guard, publicly lobbied for the team to hire Jason Kidd as its coach and spoke highly of Billups. He has since said he did not know about the accusation against Billups.Troy Wayrynen/USA Today Sports, via ReutersThe hiring of Billups immediately spurred a backlash, with the Trail Blazers being accused of glossing over the assault accusation at the expense of more experienced candidates like Becky Hammon, the seven-year San Antonio Spurs assistant who was a finalist for the job. Olshey said more than 20 candidates were considered for the role. Billups’s only coaching experience is this season with the Clippers.The Billups hiring also has brought criticism on the franchise’s biggest star, Damian Lillard, who spoke glowingly about Billups and publicly lobbied for the team to hire the former point guard Jason Kidd, who was recently hired as the coach of the Dallas Mavericks after working this season as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2001, Kidd pleaded guilty to spousal abuse against his then-wife, Joumana Kidd.On Twitter, Lillard addressed some of the criticism for supporting Kidd and Billups, saying: “Really? I was asked what coaches I like of the names I ‘heard’ and I named them. Sorry I wasn’t aware of their history I didn’t read the news when I was 7-8 yrs old. I don’t support Those things … but if this the route y’all wana come at me… say less.”At the news conference, Olshey said that Lillard had been “involved in the process” for hiring a new coach and that he attended some of the video conference interviews. According to Olshey, Lillard also spoke to Billups directly before the hire.“We have different sectors in this organization,” Olshey said. “And, you know, Dame represents the player sector, and we took his input in the process. We value it. It’s important to us to kind of know where he stands. But at the end of the day, this is an organizational decision and the organization believes that Chauncey is the best person to be our head coach.” More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyChad Wheeler Charged With Felony Assault in Domestic Attack CaseThe N.F.L. lineman was arrested Saturday after a violent assault on a woman in his home.Chad Wheeler, 27, was arrested early Saturday morning on suspicion of felony domestic violence. He is facing two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge.Credit…Stephen Brashear/Associated PressJan. 28, 2021Updated 5:32 p.m. ETChad Wheeler, an N.F.L. offensive lineman who played five games with the Seattle Seahawks this season, is facing three criminal charges after his arrest last week on suspicion of felony domestic violence.Wheeler was released by the Seahawks on Wednesday, soon after prosecutors formally charged him with first-degree domestic violence assault, a felony; domestic violence unlawful imprisonment, a felony; and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. In their charging papers, prosecutors in King County, Wash., said Wheeler “viciously attacked the victim” and choked her.Wheeler, 27, was arrested early Saturday morning and released from King County Jail on Tuesday after posting a $400,000 bond. Wheeler will be arraigned on Feb. 9 in Kent, Wash., where he lives. Prosecutors asked that Wheeler wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle.According to the prosecutor’s charging papers, Wheeler attacked his girlfriend in her bedroom, choking her at times with both hands until she lost consciousness. After she awoke, he choked her again until she became unconscious. She told the police that when she tried to roll away from Wheeler, he grabbed her left arm and ripped her body back toward him.When she awoke the second time, the woman told the police, Wheeler returned to the bedroom and said, “Oh, you’re still alive.” She then said she went into the bathroom, locked the door and sent text messages to her family, friends and Wheeler’s father, asking that they call 911. The woman also called 911 and told an operator she was being “killed.”When the police arrived, Wheeler refused to be detained. Unable to put him in handcuffs, officers used a Taser. According to the charging papers, Wheeler said, “I don’t beat women,” and yelled to the woman that he loved her.After the woman was taken to the hospital, doctors determined she had a fractured arm and a dislocated elbow. Her face was swollen in a way that doctors believed was the result of choking. The woman also had lesions on her neck, some in the shape of fingertips.According to prosecutors, Wheeler is 6 feet 7 inches and 310 pounds and the woman is 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds.The woman told the police she believed Wheeler had bipolar disorder and had not been taking his medication.The N.F.L. said it was reviewing the case. After the league completes its investigation, Wheeler could be suspended or fined, if he was found to have violated the league’s personal conduct policy. If Wheeler is signed by another team before the investigation is completed, the league could put him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would prohibit him from taking the field until the league’s investigation is complete.“The Seahawks are saddened by the details emerging against Chad Wheeler and strongly condemn this act of domestic violence,” the team said in a statement Wednesday. “Our thoughts and support are with the victim.”On Wednesday, Wheeler apologized via social media for what he called “a manic episode” and said he was leaving football.“It is time for me to walk away from football and get the help I need to never again pose a threat to another,” he wrote on Twitter. “I cannot express my sorrow or remorse enough. I am truly ashamed.”Wheeler was set to be a free agent in March, but by waiving him now, the Seahawks have cut ties with him. Wheeler started 19 games with the Giants in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
