C.J. Spillman under investigation

jsmith6919

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By Calvin Watkins and Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
Updated: October 1, 2014, 11:18 PM

Dallas Cowboys safety C.J. Spillman is being investigated in connection with an alleged sexual assault at the team's hotel on September 20th, according to Grapevine, Texas police.

Police spokesperson Barry Bowling said a report was filed Sept. 20 and the matter is still under investigation and Spillman hasn't been charged or arrested.

According to a source, Spillman, who was signed by the Cowboys on Aug. 31, has cooperated fully in the investigation.

Police say the incident occurred at the Gaylord Hotel on Sept. 20, the day before the Cowboys played at St. Louis.

There was no immediate response from the Cowboys.

Several Cowboys' players stay at the Gaylord Hotel until they find apartments, which is the case with Spillman.

Attorney Gloria Allred earlier Wednesday sent a letter to Jeff Pash, the NFL's executive vice president and general counsel regarding the alleged assault on Wednesday.

In the letter, Allred said Pash invited the alleged victim to be interviewed by NFL investigators "on a confidential and appropriate basis."

Allred's letter raises concern about the type of interview her client might have with league officials.

"The fact that you chose to make public your requests to interview our client confidentially causes us concern about whether the interview itself would be kept confidential or tweeted out by you as you did with your letter to me," Allred's letter to Pash said. "However, I am willing to meet with you to discuss your request and also to learn the answers to our important questions posed in my original letter to you (which was not shared with the press)."

Last week, Allfred alluded to an alleged sexual assault, without naming the player or team, and Pash responded he would like to speak with the attorney.

Recently, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett addressed the team about off-the-field conduct and mentioned domestic violence as part of his discussion.

Monday, the team welcomed the return of defensive tackle Josh Brent to the team. Brent was convicted of intoxication manslaughter resulting in the death of his best friend and Cowboys' practice squad player Jerry Brown.

Brent spent five months in jail and 45 days in a rehab facility before he was released. He was suspended for the first 10 weeks of the season but after the league failed to hear his appeal, it was amended and while he still can't play in a game until Week 10, he's now allowed to attend the team facilities.

"Again, part of what our jobs are as coaches is to create the right environment for our players to function both on and off the field," Garrett said. "So we need to be clear about where we are, we need to be clear that we have a structure in place to help anybody who has any off the field issues. Me as a coach, position coaches, player programs, departments, we have a lot of resources here to help guys.

"So that was the first message, if you're dealing with anything off the field and we can help with, we're here for you. Having said that, there is standards that we have about all off the field behavior and certainly domestic violence applies to that. We're just very clear with how we're going to handle things."
 

boozeman

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Police investigate Dallas Cowboys C.J. Spillman in alleged sexual assault on woman in team's hotel

The alleged attack occurred at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Texas on Sept. 20. Spillman, a special teams player, was then allowed to play the next day. On Sept. 19, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made an awkward news conference during which he promised to get tough on players accused of violent crime. The Cowboys have not disciplined Spillman.

BY Michael O'keeffe , Christian Red , Nathaniel Vinton /

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /

Published: Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 9:25 PM

/ Updated: Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 11:12 PM

C.J. Spillman has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the Dallas Cowboys team hotel.

A Dallas Cowboys special teams player has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the team’s hotel in Texas on Sept. 20 — and he was allowed to play the next day.

The alleged attack came just a day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s awkward news conference during which he promised to get tough on players accused of violent crime.

Police in Grapevine, Texas, told the Daily News that C.J. Spillman, 28, is “involved” in the investigation of a sexual assault that allegedly took place at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, the Cowboys’ official hotel since 2009.

“We have a sexual assault report we are investigating at this time, and it does involve C.J. Spillman,” said Sgt. Robert Eberling, a police spokesman. “He is involved in the investigation. We are looking into the matter.”

The NFL has been under heavy fire for several weeks for the tepid discipline it meted out to players accused of domestic violence, child abuse and other violent acts, prompting the National Organization for Women and other groups to call for Goodell to resign.

Goodell acknowledged the NFL had screwed up during a news conference in New York on Sept. 19 and promised the league would learn from those mistakes and get things right.

“The same mistakes can never be repeated,” Goodell promised. “We will get our house in order first. We will do more.”

Civil rights attorney Gloria Allred sent a letter to the commissioner on Sept. 26, a week after Goodell’s uneasy news conference, saying she represents a woman who filed a police report alleging an NFL player had raped her.


NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might have to deal with another violent crime involving a player. A Dallas Cowboys player has been accused of raping a woman.

The alleged perpetrator, accompanied by a team official, met with police on Sept. 20, Allred said in the letter.

“Thereafter, the accused was then allowed by his team to play the following day,” the letter added. “We have asked the NFL whether or not this alleged rape was reported to them and if they approved this accused individual’s playing in the game notwithstanding the allegations that had been made against him.”

In her news conference on Monday, Allred revealed her client underwent a rape kit examination and provided other evidence. Allred said her client was told the player was contacted by police and appeared at a station with a representative of his team, and then played the next day, Sept. 21.

Allred declined to discuss the Spillman investigation on Wednesday, but she did respond to a request made earlier this week by the NFL’s top lawyer, Jeffrey Pash, to interview the alleged victim.

“In considering whether our client will or will not be agreeable to meeting with your representative we would like to be assured that the NFL is acting in good faith and that it is conducting an investigation which encompasses not only the rape allegations but also why the player and the team involved did not report these matters immediately to the NFL as required by your NFL Personal Conduct Policy,” Allred wrote.

“In other words, my client and I are not an NFL team and the NFL does not get to make all the rules in this situation. This is not a game of football or a sporting competition. It is real life and it concerns a serious allegation of sexual violence against a young woman,” Allred added.

Spillman had one tackle in the Cowboys’ 34-31 victory over the Rams in St. Louis on Sept. 21. The Cowboys did not respond to calls from The News and an NFL spokesman declined comment.

Attorney Gloria Allred sent a letter to Goodell on Sept. 26 to say she's representing a woman who filed a police report alleging an NFL player had raped her.


He hasn’t been disciplined by the team.

Spillman’s agent, Ron Slavin, declined to talk to The News about the allegations.

Spillman grew up in Louisville, Ky., and played college ball at Marshall University. He was not selected in the 2009 NFL draft but was signed as a free agent that year by the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers waived Spillman in 2010, and he was promptly claimed by the San Francisco 49ers, who cut him after four seasons because of salary cap issues. Spillman signed with Dallas in August.

The NFL has been under fire since the season began early last month after TMZ posted a video of Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice hitting his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February. Goodell took heat for initially only giving Rice a two-game suspension. Once the tape surfaced and prompted an outcry, the commissioner suspended Rice indefinitely and the Ravens terminated his contract.

The Rice debacle was quickly followed by the arrest of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on charges of child abuse stemming from him whipping his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. The Vikings, who deactivated Peterson for one game, had planned to play the 2012 league MVP on the following Sunday, but flip-flopped when sponsors threatened to bail. Radisson hotels quickly severed ties.

Goodell acknowledged that the league had fumbled after sponsors — including beer giant Anheuser-Busch — expressed concern about how the NFL handled allegations of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

With Gary Myers
 

Cowboysrock55

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Gloria Allred has always been a scumbag attorney in my opinion. No idea if there is any validity to these allegations nor do I really care.
 

boozeman

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Gloria Allred has always been a scumbag attorney in my opinion. No idea if there is any validity to these allegations nor do I really care.
Yeah, not too concerned, nor interested for that matter.

I am just sick of these social issues being blown up because everyone is being all fake concerned now about things that have been going on for years and years.

Just STFU already. Rape, spousal abuse and switching your kid are everyday occurrences without half the grandstanding phony outrage you are seeing now that the NFL has been attached to it. The shit happens everyday with a yawn. But holy shit an NFL player did it, let's freak the fuck out and call a press conference.

I can't count the number of guys that got off on trumped up rape charges. There are hundreds of claims, yet only one guy like Darren Sharper gets in a lot of trouble for it.
 

L.T. Fan

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I am all for administering punishment for these matters but not until it had been adjudicated. I don't agree with using sanctions or punishments based on allegations.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Especially with rape allegations. NFL players are real targets when it comes to false sexual assault allegations because people see dollar signs. Hell even Jerry Jones appears to be susceptible to such things.

Besides it's not like we are talking about Dez Bryant here.
 

jsmith6919

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dallen

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Why would the team do anything over an allegation? It is a serious charge. There has to be some review process before you start doling out punishments.
 

Genghis Khan

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Gloria Allred has always been a scumbag attorney in my opinion. No idea if there is any validity to these allegations nor do I really care.
Agreed. I am a little surprised she is taking on a case against such a little known player, except it seems like she's using the case as a way to go at the NFL as a whole.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Why would the team do anything over an allegation? It is a serious charge. There has to be some review process before you start doling out punishments.
You have to at least have enough evidence to file charges before you do something.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Agreed. I am a little surprised she is taking on a case against such a little known player, except it seems like she's using the case as a way to go at the NFL as a whole.
I think with all the domestic stuff going on with regards to the NFL she was just looking for an in so she could jump in the spotlight!
 
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