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Cornerback Jeff Gladney was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 draft. He only played 16 games before Minnesota broke the tie.
The Vikings waived him last summer after he was charged with assaulting a woman in Dallas, and no other team has given Gladney a chance to play in 2021. On Thursday, Gladney was found not guilty.
Now he will surely get a chance to resume his career sometime in 2022.
Gladney’s spokesman, Brian Overstreet and Rodney Williams of United Sports Group, released a statement Thursday following the verdict.
“First of all, it had a real impact on Jeff Gladney as a person,” the statement said. “These situations have very real implications for the young people involved. It was a difficult time for Jeff mentally, spiritually and athletically. So we applaud Jeff for having the courage to stand up and fight for your freedom against these false accusations. We also hope that this will encourage other athletes in the future who have been falsely accused, blackmailed or persuaded to provide silence money to make such situations disappear, to now take a stand and defend themselves. As I said at the beginning of this case, we have always believed in the innocence of Jeff Gladney. We sincerely thank and appreciate the Dallas County jurors for their open-mindedness, service, and taking the time to see justice instead of a professional athlete. Unfortunately, Jeff lost a year of his career. We sincerely hope that the NFL will take a cue from the criminal justice system in the future and truly believe that these guys are innocent until proven guilty. Jeff is in good health today and we look forward to talking to NFL teams about furthering his career at the right time. Out of respect for the process, we will have no further comment for now.”
Gladney is a free agent who can sign a contract at any time.