After not being charged with any wrongdoing by a Philadelphia District Attorney, Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy will face no punishment from the NFL following an offseason fight in a Philadelphia bar.
“Our review is concluded. No further action,” a statement from the NFL read, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News.
The decision comes as a mild surprise at best, as there was no legal action brought against McCoy. Three others involved in the incident from February were also not charged for their connection to the fight that ultimately left a pair of off-duty police officers in the hospital for medical attention.
Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams had been criticized in the Philadelphia area, most notably by police officers, for the slow pace of investigating the incident involving McCoy, but Williams stressed the importance of avoiding a rush to judgment in the investigation. Those cries for McCoy to be charged were ultimately left unsatisfied when it was decided there was not enough evidence to charge McCoy.
With no legal charges against him, the NFL had little choice but to assure McCoy will not be missing any playing time and paychecks as a result. This was suspected to be the decision as early as April, but the NFL had yet to make anything official one way or the other until now.
There may still be some calls for some action that will go unanswered, as the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy does not require a player to have been charged for any legal violation. If the conduct of a player is deemed detrimental to the NFL, a suspension of some sort could be enforced. That appears not to be the case here, despite video of McCoy throwing punches with others on the record.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady continues to fight a suspension over deflated footballs. What a world in which we live.
