The NFL is indeed investigating the allegations against Bills running back LeSean McCoy.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, the NFL’s domestic violence investigators have begun communications with both the Milton (Ga.) Police Department and Delicia Cordon’s attorneys regarding the not-so-subtle suggestion that McCoy arranged the brutal attack on Cordon. It’s not a surprise given the league’s recent history in cases of this nature, and it underscores the nature of the potential problems McCoy currently faces.
Regardless of whether the authorities decide to pursue criminal charges under the ultra-high standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the league can impose punishment under a much, much lower threshold. And if Cordon, who likely will be very motivated to obtain justice for the injuries she sustained, is willing to cooperate fully with the NFL, McCoy’s discipline may hinge on the relative credibility of Cordon and her witnesses and McCoy and his witnesses.
Then there’s the issue of electronic evidence. If it turns out that this was some sort of Fargo-style caper gone haywire, with McCoy hiring someone to enter his house to recover jewelry he bought for Cordon, McCoy may have sent text message or email messages regarding the plan. Which means that the NFL, which suspended Tom Brady for electronic evidence irregularities in connection with the amount of air in footballs, should swoop in quickly and demand all digital proof in McCoy’s possession.
And if McCoy is indeed innocent, his new lawyer probably should encourage McCoy to act that way. Instead of simply calling the allegations false, McCoy should be loud and indignant that a house he owns was robbed, that jewelry he purchased was stolen, that a woman with whom he had been in relationship was brutally attacked, and that her lawyers are suggesting he orchestrated it.
The absence of that kind of reaction from McCoy doesn’t make him guilty, but it definitely makes an unusual situation even more bizarre.