Washington releases RB Derrius Guice after arrest on domestic violence, felony strangulation charges
The Washington Football team has released running back Derrius Guice following a domestic violence arrest.
The team made the decision Friday afternoon moments after the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Guice was arrested on three charges of assault and battery, one count of destruction of property and a felony count of strangulation.
The Washington Post reports that Guice turned himself in to the Loudoun Adult Detention Center in Northern Virginia Friday afternoon. He hired Peter D. Greenspun, a high-profile criminal defense attorney who represented D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad, according to the report.
There are no further details about Guice’s charges.
Team informed of allegations on Thursday
The team announced that it became aware of the allegations against Guice on Thursday and made the decision to release him after his arrest.
“On Thursday we leaned of a potential domestic violence incident involving RB Derrius Guice,” a team statement reads. “We immediately alerted the National Football League and have continued to inform him that he was excused from all team activity pending a review of this matter.
“This afternoon we learned that there were multiple charges filed against Derrius. Upon review of the nature of these charges and following internal discussions, we have decided to release Derrius immediately.”
Guice’s attorney denies charges
Through his attorney, Guice “adamantly” denied the charges in a statement that criticized the team for releasing him.
“Derrius has continued to work exceedingly hard to contribute to the Washington Football Team and was expected to be a key player this season, yet he was released without a single question as to what occurred,” the statement reads.
The statement also accuses investigators of failing “to seek a statement or any input from Derrius before the warrants were issued.”
Guice’s fall from high hopes
Guice, 23, was approaching his third season with the Washington Football Team. Selected late in the second round out of LSU in the 2018 draft, Guice played just five games with the team amid a rash of injuries.
Guice arrived in Washington with significant on-field promise after off-field concerns caused him to drop from the first round of the draft.
His swift release arrives as the franchise seeks to rebuild its image in the aftermath of a Washington Post reporting alleging a culture of sexual harassment at teams headquarters and its ongoing rebranding effort after dropping a racial slur as its nickname.
The decision also arrives under the leadership of first-year head coach Ron Rivera, who is increasingly taking on the public face of the team’s vow of culture change.
Washington now has Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic on its running back depth chart.
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