Earlier this week, Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was arrested and charged with domestic violence in Avon, Ohio. Hall Jr. allegedly threatened a woman with a gun on Monday evening, and the Browns rookie was arrested and booked on Tuesday, per ESPN, via a clerk at Avon Lake Municipal Court.
Hall Jr., who played his college football at Ohio State, was back at practice for the Browns on Wednesday, and head coach Kevin Stefanski understandably didn't have a whole lot to say about the situation.
“Respectfully, I don’t have much to add,” Stefanski said, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, via Josh Alper of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk. “I’m going to let legal proceedings play out. I understand you’ve got some questions, but I really don’t have much on that.”
Hall Jr. reportedly left practice early on Wednesday with trainers after apparently sustaining an injury.
As for the arrest, a police report states that Hall Jr. allegedly grabbed a gun during an argument and yelled, “I will f—ing end it all. I don't care.”
The report also states that “Hall screamed at her to leave the house, grabbed her by the feet and dragged her on her back down the driveway,” per ESPN.
A disturbing report
![Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns Stadium.](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Stefanski-on-the-sidelines.jpg)
The Hall Jr. situation hangs a cloud over a Browns franchise that already has plenty of pressure on it strictly inside the sports realm heading into the 2024 NFL season.
The major public fallout and controversy that followed the trade for Deshaun Watson two years ago appears to have mostly subsided, but the Browns have plenty of issues to sort out on the field of play, including the actual football productivity of their quarterback, which seems to have taken a major decline since his days with the Houston Texans, when he was one of the best in the league at his position.
Last year, Watson missed the second half of the year due to injury, and although backup quarterback Joe Flacco in some ways resurrected his career and captured the hearts of football fans everywhere in the process, the Browns quickly flamed out with a playoff loss to the Texans in blowout fashion.
While the team still employs Myles Garrett, meaning that their defense is almost guaranteed to be at least solid by that fact alone, the Browns will need to put some things together on offense in order to truly compete.
The first game of the season is set for early September vs the Dallas Cowboys.