Report: Darrelle Revis Won't Be Disciplined By NFL After Pittsburgh Street Altercation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- As Darrelle Revis looks for work, prospective teams now don't have to worry about the veteran cornerback being hit with a suspension.
An NFL spokesman said Monday that Revis won't be disciplined following a February altercation in Pittsburgh that led to the former Jets star being charged with aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy, and terroristic threats, the Daily News reported. A judge dismissed the charges in March after a childhood friend of Revis' testified that he knocked out two men who confronted the seven-time Pro Bowler during a dispute over a cellphone.
The Jets released Revis two weeks after the incident, but they have insisted the move had nothing to do with the arrest. Even before then, Revis was considered by many observers to be expendable due to his declining play and expensive salary. He has yet to sign with a new team.
Revis' friend, Rashawn Bolton, 31, of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, testified he knocked out Dallas Cousins, 22, and Zacheriah Jarvis, 21, with one punch each after Revis phoned him to say he was being jumped. Bolton ran from a few blocks away and testified he saw one man with his arms around Revis' waist and the other hanging on Revis' neck, pulled both off, then punched them in self-defense.
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Bolton then took a video, which wound up on TMZ, in which he could be heard saying, "Hey, I knocked both of them (expletives) out. Both of them. They're both sleeping" and then, turned to one of their friends saying, telling him to shut up.
Bolton has not been charged.
A criminal complaint quoted Cousins and Jarvis as telling police they had been assaulted by Revis, though the men later acknowledged — and testified at a preliminary hearing — that they didn't know who hit them. Officer Anthony Burke testified the complaint he filed charging Revis was based on statements the victims gave at the scene.
Cousins testified that he was a sports fan and heard someone say they recognized Revis as Cousins walked with several friends outside a bar early that morning. When Revis confirmed he was the star player — well-known from his time at the University of Pittsburgh and nearby Aliquippa High School — Cousins doubted it and said Revis became "irate."
At that point, Revis "nudged" Cousins and caused him to drop his phone, which was damaged. Cousins then picked it up and walked toward Revis, shooting video, before Revis grabbed the phone and tried to delete the video before, eventually, throwing it into the street, Cousins testified.
Cousins and Jarvis acknowledged trying to grab the phone from Revis' hand, but both denied they had him around the neck of waist in trying to do so. The two men acknowledged they'd been drinking enough that they planned not to drive, but denied being overly intoxicated.
Both suffered concussions, with Cousins also suffering a fractured eye socket and Jarvis a jaw contusion.
Bolton and Revis had been together hours earlier, but separated when Revis went to see a woman, Bolton said. When Revis called for help, Bolton started running several blocks in the direction he last saw Revis head, calling back twice to locate Revis.
The Jets drafted Revis with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft. Widely regarded as the best cornerback of his era, he played six seasons in New York before he was traded to the Buccaneers in 2013. After playing one season in Tampa and another in New England, where he won a Super Bowl, Revis returned to the Jets as a free agent before the 2015 season.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)