Facing criminal charges for the second time this year, a Minnesota Vikings player was arrested on October 22 for domestic battery and was unable to join his team in a game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, as reported by the Associated Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and CBS.
The player, C.C., 24, had played in the starting position in the last three games and is a second-year pro.
Per Eden police spokeswoman, Katie Beal, C.C. was arrested after a call was made to 911 alerting police of a domestic disturbance at approximately 2 a.m. The incident occurred at the player's home, in the 6400 block of Regency Lane.
The victim's name, and present condition, have not been released as of yet.
C.C. was booked on probable cause for felony domestic assault/strangulation and misdemeanor fifth-degree domestic assault. He was being held without bail at Hennepin County jail. Within 48 hours the hearing that was scheduled for October 24 had been cancelled and he remained in custody.
The Star Tribune reported that Beal said that the police were requiring further time to investigate the allegations.
Leslie Frazier, the team's head coach, said, "As we get more clarity as to what's going on with (C.C.), we'll act accordingly. But we'll try to get clarity hopefully in the next few days and go from there. I don't think any of us in this organization are pleased when one of our players is arrested for anything. And the fact that one of our players is in jail is a disappointment."
A Viking team spokesman, Bob Hagen, said, "We take this matter very seriously and are still gathering all the details of the incident". Hagen also made the announcement that C.C. would not be joining his teammates up against the unbeaten Green Bay team.
A judge found C.C. not guilty of misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm - due to a lack of evidence - in an earlier incident this year between C.C. and a neighbor near his Virginia residence.
Frazier spoke with C.C. during the off-season, in an attempt to drive the point home that the player needs to stay out of trouble when he is not on the field.
C.C. was heavily relied upon as two other players were expected to be out of Sunday's game due to injuries.
Of his depleted team Frazier said, "They do a lot of four and five wideout sets; more so than most teams that you play. You would like to have all hands on deck, but the guys that are going to play are going to be ready to go and we are going to need them to step up and play big for us."
If you have been charged with misdemeanor or felony domestic assault, whether you have faced similar charges before, you must contact a family law attorney to represent you. You will require an experienced team player to get you back in the game - and out of jail.