Witnesses: Teammates didn't report ex-Arizona RB's domestic violence
Police records indicate Arizona players witnessed and knew of former running back Orlando Bradford’s abusive incidents with his girlfriend but didn’t report those incidents to police.
According to witness statements in records obtained by Tucson News Now, unidentified teammates of the dismissed running back saw instances of abuse and heard about the threats he was making to the woman.
According to the witness’ reports, Bradford would hit the victim “in front of the guys” and named the four football players who lived in the house.
A witness, who police said was in a relationship with one of Bradford’s roommates, heard that Bradford was, “telling everyone in the locker room what he had done (to the victim) and was joking about it.”
The witness told police they felt bad for not intervening or calling the police.
Bradford was kicked off the team in September of 2016 after he was arrested on seven felony charges of abuse. He had practiced with the team the morning before his arrest.
Bradford was sentenced to five years in prison in November. In September, Bradford pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault. Before his plea deal he was initially charged with 10 felonies and five misdemeanors regarding accusations by his then-girlfriend that he hit and choked her. Another woman also claimed Bradford had abused her.
A lawsuit against the university has also been filed against the school by one of the women. She alleges the school knew of Bradford’s violent history but did nothing to prevent another attack.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
