Rolando McClain is in an Alabama courtroom on Thursday as his trial on various charges related to a December arrest gets underway.
The day didn’t get off to the best start for McClain as his co-defendant in the case, Jaradious Willingham, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against McClain. WHNT TV reports that Willingham pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and will spend 90 days in jail. McClain is charged with third-degree assault as well as menacing, reckless endangerment and wrongfully discharging a firearm.
On Wednesday, a video surfaced, via the Decatur Daily, that purports to show McClain and Willingham assaulting Richard Tapscott. You can clearly see Willingham hitting Tapscott on the video, which has been cobbled together from several different cell phones, but the quality isn’t good and the audio is inconsistent. You don’t see McClain physically assault Tapscott nor is there any shot of him firing a gun near Tapscott, which McClain is alleged to have done.
McClain was not disciplined by the team or the league following the incident last season. He could still be punished by the league under the personal conduct policy.