Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler will not be back with the team next season after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.
The Seahawks are cutting ties with Wheeler, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports the league is reviewing the case under the personal conduct policy:
#Seahawks OL Chad Wheeler, arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence, is not under contract for 2021 and won’t be back in Seattle, source said. The NFL says the matter is being reviewed under the personal conduct policy. Details: https://t.co/Qmg2Dl8kiG
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 27, 2021
The allegations against Wheeler are grotesque.
Wheeler is said to have strangled his girlfriend at an apartment in Kent, a suburb of the metropolitan Seattle area. The reserve lineman also has allegedly been failing to take his medication for bipolar disorder, per ESPN's Brady Henderson:
The Kent Police Department's report said Wheeler is accused of throwing the woman on a bed, strangling her before she lost consciousness and later picking a lock on a door to a bathroom, where the woman had fled to call 911 after she regained consciousness.
The incident began when Wheeler asked the woman to bow to him, according to the report. It said Wheeler had not been taking his medication for bipolar disorder.
It remains to be seen what kind of punishment Wheeler could face pending league investigation, though the severity of the allegations could well necessitate an indefinite ban.
The incident has prompted a ton of criticism of media, especially considering the racial aspect:
an NFL player almost beat his girlfriend to death, and the mainstream media is kinda quiet about it..Chad Wheeler's name isn't even trending.
I wonder whats different from this story and other cases of athletes engaging in domestic violence? https://t.co/eg7Mny8WeQ
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) January 26, 2021
Chad Wheeler of the @Seahawks tried to kill his girlfriend because she wouldn’t bow to him. He was even surprised at her survival.
If you’re not outraged, you’re part of the problem. @NFL handle this swiftly & decisively. pic.twitter.com/R2IF1HwMow
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 27, 2021
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Dez Bryant had more to say on the hypocrisy:
Chad wheeler if I ever run across you
We are going toe to toe because I wouldn’t mind making the news breaking something across your fucking head then ask you are you still alive?..I know 1 thing the media don’t mind destroying the black athletes without the facts
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) January 27, 2021
Chad Wheeler will not return to the Seahawks. If the NFL is about justice, he likely will not be allowed to return to football.
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