Yesh, it is disturbing to read about the allegations. Selfishly, I hope that this thing is just resolved quickly and justly so that it doesn't hang over the Vikings season (though I appreciate the thorough reporting here so that we are informed).
That said, some legal background (this isn't my area of expertise, but this is the general stuff that most lawyers know) so that everyone can know what we are reading out:
Grand jury indictments are very different from an actual criminal trial. They are required in Texas for all felony charges (unless waived by the defendant), you don't need a unanimous verdict to indict (rather you only need 9 out of 12 jurors to agree), you indict on a lower standard of guilt than you do for the actual criminal trial (only need "probable cause" to indict, which means that the grand jury indicts if they think that something is probably true, whereas you need "beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict), and most importantly, there is not even a defense attorney present for a grand jury trial to provide a different narrative (but basically the question is whether the prosecution can possibly convict if all of their evidence/assertions are presented uncontested). For that reason, the famous quip (by a former New York State chief judge - basically the "highest" judge of New York State) is that a grand jury would "indict a ham sandwich" if given a chance, as it is relatively easy to get an indictment.
And no, it doesn't inherently mean anything that the Gladney's ex is suing Gladney in civil court. This is common for various reasons, first and foremost being that there is a lower standard to successfully sue a person than to get a criminal conviction (hence why O.J. Simpson was criminally acquitted but civilly found guilty of murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman). While certainly there are instances where a victim will settle a civil case and then refuse to cooperate with the prosecution (such that the criminal case is dropped), there are also plenty of times where a victim will strongly pursue both a civil case and a criminal case, because, e.g., they both want the perpetrator to be in jail and also want to be compensated by the perpetrator. Basically, we really can't and shouldn't take anything from the fact that the Gladney's ex here sued Gladney on top of the indictment.
I won't pass judgement on Gladney (for now) as there's been plenty of situations like this that change dramatically once the full facts come out. But at least in my mind he's been a non-entity for quite some time now and will continue to be. He's almost certainly not going to be here this season and depending on what emerges in trial, maybe never.
There's an irrational part of me that's agitated with the Vikings over this and it's due to their less than stellar history with 1st rounders over the past decade (Ponder, Kalil, Treadwell, Hughes, Bradbury). I fully admit that it's not fair of me, but man it hurts to waste a 1st rounder like this.
Yesh, it is disturbing to read about the allegations. Selfishly, I hope that this thing is just resolved quickly and justly so that it doesn't hang over the Vikings season (though I appreciate the thorough reporting here so that we are informed).
That said, some legal background (this isn't my area of expertise, but this is the general stuff that most lawyers know) so that everyone can know what we are reading out:
Grand jury indictments are very different from an actual criminal trial. They are required in Texas for all felony charges (unless waived by the defendant), you don't need a unanimous verdict to indict (rather you only need 9 out of 12 jurors to agree), you indict on a lower standard of guilt than you do for the actual criminal trial (only need "probable cause" to indict, which means that the grand jury indicts if they think that something is probably true, whereas you need "beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict), and most importantly, there is not even a defense attorney present for a grand jury trial to provide a different narrative (but basically the question is whether the prosecution can possibly convict if all of their evidence/assertions are presented uncontested). For that reason, the famous quip (by a former New York State chief judge - basically the "highest" judge of New York State) is that a grand jury would "indict a ham sandwich" if given a chance, as it is relatively easy to get an indictment.
And no, it doesn't inherently mean anything that the Gladney's ex is suing Gladney in civil court. This is common for various reasons, first and foremost being that there is a lower standard to successfully sue a person than to get a criminal conviction (hence why O.J. Simpson was criminally acquitted but civilly found guilty of murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman). While certainly there are instances where a victim will settle a civil case and then refuse to cooperate with the prosecution (such that the criminal case is dropped), there are also plenty of times where a victim will strongly pursue both a civil case and a criminal case, because, e.g., they both want the perpetrator to be in jail and also want to be compensated by the perpetrator. Basically, we really can't and shouldn't take anything from the fact that the Gladney's ex here sued Gladney on top of the indictment.
Great story Brian. This individual should never be able to step on another Nfl field for the rest of his life and the same goes with DeShawn Watson.
I won't pass judgement on Gladney (for now) as there's been plenty of situations like this that change dramatically once the full facts come out. But at least in my mind he's been a non-entity for quite some time now and will continue to be. He's almost certainly not going to be here this season and depending on what emerges in trial, maybe never.
There's an irrational part of me that's agitated with the Vikings over this and it's due to their less than stellar history with 1st rounders over the past decade (Ponder, Kalil, Treadwell, Hughes, Bradbury). I fully admit that it's not fair of me, but man it hurts to waste a 1st rounder like this.