Former Vikings CB Jeff Gladney not guilty of assault

Cornerback Jeff Gladney joined the Minnesota Vikings via the 31st pick of the 2020 NFL Draft and appeared in 16 games his rookie season but was then released by the club last August after he was indicted on a felony domestic violence charge related to an alleged incident involving a former girlfriend said to have happened the previous April. 

According to ESPN and The Associated Press, a jury unanimously found Gladney not guilty on Thursday. The 25-year-old faced up to 10 years in prison had he been convicted. 

As Josh Alper noted for Pro Football Talk, the woman accused Gladney of shoving, punching, and choking her and also of attempting to bribe her and scare her into keeping quiet about the alleged incident. Brian E. Overstreet, Gladney's agent, lashed out at the Vikings shortly after they released his client and said his team "strongly" believed in Gladney's innocence. 

"First and foremost, this has had a real impact on Jeff Gladney as a person," Overstreet and Rodney Williams of the United Sports Group said in a statement shared by Charean Williams of PFT. "These situations have very real consequences for the young men involved. This has been a challenging time for Jeff mentally, spiritually and athletically. So, we applaud Jeff for having the courage to stand and fight for his freedom versus these false allegations. We further hope this will encourage other athletes in the future who have been falsely accused, blackmailed or persuaded to provide hush money to make these type of situations go away, to now take a stand and defend themselves as well. 

"As I stated previously at the beginning of this case, we have always believed in Jeff Gladney’s innocence. We sincerely thank and appreciate the jurors of Dallas County for their open minds, service and taking their time to see justice instead of a professional athlete. Unfortunately, Jeff has lost a year of his career. We sincerely hope that the NFL will take a page from the criminal justice system going forward and truly believe these guys are innocent until proven guilty. 

"Today, Jeff is in a good place, and we look forward to engaging with NFL teams about furthering his career at the appropriate time. Out of respect for the process, we will have no further comments at this time."

It's assumed Gladney can sign with any club as a free agent today without having to worry about spending time on the commissioner's exempt list.