Ray McDonald, Chicago Bears defensive lineman was arrested in Santa Clara, California allegedly for domestic violence and possible child endangerment. This past year, McDonald was accused of domestic violence and sexual assault, but was never charged. It resulted in him being cut from the San Francisco 49ers. His name was cleared of the potential Personal Conduct Policy violation and he threatened to sue his accuser saying the sexual encounter was “clearly consensual.”
McDonald won’t be so lucky this time because the NFL, after much criticism, has taken on a new approach to accusations of violent crime. He will likely be placed on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List which according to the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual is…
“The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances. The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. The Commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the Commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the Active List.”
In the interim, McDonald will likely earn his base salary but can’t practice or play. The decision is Bears’ GM Ryan Pace.
{UPDATE: On, Monday afternoon the Bears released him less than 75 days after signing him to a one-year deal. “We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” Bears GM Ryan Pace said in a statement, according to the Chicago Tribune. “He was not able to meet the standard and the decision was made to release him.”]
