The Green Bay Packers had thought that they had weathered the storm with their running back Josh Jacobs. After a 6-game absence and the pleading no contest to misdemeanour battery charges from the May arrest, the star running back just stepped back onto the field. 

Now the NFL is expanding the already ongoing investigation after there are newly released police records that revealed that three additional women have come forward with fresh abuse allegations. With the league’s personal conduct policy which is potentially facing a huge stress test, Green Bay backfield stability and Jacobs’ NFL future and hanging by a thread. 

Multiple women also came forward to the police, and their evidence was included regarding Jacobs’ battery case. The Hobart/Lawrence Police Department released a statement in response to the public records request.  Green Bay TV station NBC 26 first reported the records’ release. 

Jacobs pleaded no contest on Sept. 10 to misdemeanour charges of battery and criminal property damage. He was then arrested on May 26th three days after an incident where a woman said he allegedly threw her to the ground. 

What about the latest allegations against Jacobs? 

It is not clear how the recent allegations will play out in the NFL’s investigations. The league has, for now, placed him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List from August after the charges were filed against him. This caused Jacobs to miss the Packers’ first 6 games of the season. 

As per AFP, one woman came forward with a previously unreported incident from January 2022 after hearing about the charges against Jacobs last May, saying she was slapped in the face, grabbed by the throat, and held down onto a bed.

Another woman claimed that she suffered arm bruises and pain in her ribs after being grabbed and pushed by Jacobs in April 2021.

A third woman told police that in May of 2022, Jacobs dragged her by the head and neck and scratched her chest with marks that remained for months.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said Saturday that this league will review these allegations as a part of its personal investigation. Jacobs’ lawyers -- David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III -- issued a statement Saturday on their client’s behalf:

“The Brown County District Attorney’s office had these uncorroborated, old, and previously unreported allegations for months. They conducted an exhaustive investigation with the police department, and the D.A. determined that only two misdemeanor charges were warranted. They then entered into a plea agreement with Josh Jacobs. Josh has repeatedly expressed his remorse and is honoring the terms of the agreement.”

"We will review these allegations as part of the investigation, which has remained open," the NFL said in a statement to WGBA, ESPN and The Athletic. 

Written by

Tanushree Bhowmick

Edited by

Tanushree Bhowmick