Jeff Gladney’s agents: The NFL needs to take a page from criminal justice system

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Cornerback Jeff Gladney was a first-round draft choice of the Vikings in 2020. He played only 16 games before Minnesota cut ties.

The Vikings waived him last summer after he was indicted for assaulting a woman in Dallas, and no other team gave Gladney a chance to play in 2021. On Thursday, Gladney was found not guilty.

Now, he surely will get a chance to resume his career somewhere in 2022.

Gladney’s representation, Brian Overstreet and Rodney Williams of the United Sports Group, released a statement Thursday after the verdict.

“First and foremost, this has had a real impact on Jeff Gladney as a person,” the statement reads. “These situations have very real consequences for the young men involved. This has been a challenging time for Jeff mentally, spiritually and athletically. So, we applaud Jeff for having the courage to stand and fight for his freedom versus these false allegations. We further hope this will encourage other athletes in the future who have been falsely accused, blackmailed or persuaded to provide hush money to make these type of situations go away, to now take a stand and defend themselves as well. As I stated previously at the beginning of this case, we have always believed in Jeff Gladney’s innocence. We sincerely thank and appreciate the jurors of Dallas County for their open minds, service and taking their time to see justice instead of a professional athlete. Unfortunately, Jeff has lost a year of his career. We sincerely hope that the NFL will take a page from the criminal justice system going forward and truly believe these guys are innocent until proven guilty. Today, Jeff is in a good place, and we look forward to engaging with NFL teams about furthering his career at the appropriate time. Out of respect for the process, we will have no further comments at this time.”

Gladney is a free agent who can sign at any time.