DENVER—Denver Broncos star receiver Brandon Marshall faces the specter of a suspension even though a disorderly conduct charge stemming from a fight with his fiance was dismissed in an Atlanta court on Monday.
Municipal Judge Clinton Deveaux dismissed the case after Marshall and his fiance, Michi Leshase Nogami-Campbell, both of whom were charged with disorderly conduct, refused to testify against each other.
Despite being in the clear from a legal standpoint, the Pro Bowl receiver might still be disciplined for repeated violations of the league’s personal conduct code, which gives commissioner Roger Goodell the authority to punish players apart from the nation’s judicial system.
“We will (still) look into it,” league spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press on Monday after the case against Marshall was dropped.
Marshall, who was jailed for five hours Sunday morning after his fourth arrest in three years, is facing the possibility that he’ll begin the season at home just like he did last year, when he was banned from the opener following seven police-related incidents with his former girlfriend.
If he’s penalized again, it will likely be for much longer.
Repeat offenders of the league’s conduct policy, such as Tank Johnson and Chris Henry, have received eight-game suspensions. Adam “Pacman” Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season after repeated run-ins with the law.
“It’s always a concern whenever the league is looking into things,” said Marshall’s Denver-based lawyer, Harvey Steinberg. “We’ll deal with it. … I’m hopeful the league will treat us fairly and appropriately as they’ve done in the past.”
Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth said the organization has no comment on Marshall’s latest legal troubles.
The team’s new brain trust of general manager Brian Xanders and coach Josh McDaniels were already dealing with the fallout from trade talks with franchise quarterback Jay Cutler over the weekend when Marshall got into trouble again, imperiling his and the Broncos’ season along with his hopes for signing a monster contract later this year.
Marshall, who turns 25 this month, was suspended for three games last season but he and Steinberg successfully had the punishment whittled to a single game plus two paychecks totaling $52,352 when Marshall pledged to stay off the police blotter.
According to the police report, Marshall got into a heated argument early Sunday morning at his home in Atlanta with Nogami-Campbell, whom he proposed to Hawaii last month while preparing for his first Pro Bowl appearance.
Marshall told officers that he feared for his fiance’s safety when she tried to leave his house because she’s from Orlando, Fla., and isn’t familiar with the city of Atlanta.
While police looked on, the argument escalated and Marshall and his fiance began kicking and punching each other on the sidewalk outside his home, according to the report.
Neither one needed medical attention, and both of them were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and taken to the Atlanta City Jail about 6 a.m. Sunday. They posted bond about five hours later and were ordered to court Monday morning, where charges against both were dismissed.
Marshall’s latest arrest puts a crimp in his plans to seek a huge contract befitting his immense talents and standing as one of the league’s premiere wide receivers. He’s due $2.2 million this season in the final year of a four-year contract he signed as a rookie, when he was selected by the Broncos in the fourth round out of Central Florida.
His agent, Kennard McGwire, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
After sitting out the opener last season, Marshall returned from his suspension insisting he had changed his ways. He began making weekly visits to the Darrent Williams Teen Center on his days off to help inner city youths, something he said kept him grounded and fed his desire to stay out of trouble.
“He’s got to be very careful and has got to conduct himself in a professional manner at all times,” Steinberg said Monday. “He’s done wonderful work for the community and dedicated himself to that.”
Marshall said at the Pro Bowl last month he was ready to settle down and he proposed to Nogami-Campbell. Broncos fans hoped this was another sign of Marshall maturing.
Marshall caught 104 passes for 1,265 yards and six TDs last season. But he dropped 18 on-target passes, something he blamed on the nerve damage in his right arm, which he put through a television set while horsing around with his brother in the offseason.
In three NFL seasons, Marshall has caught 226 passes for 2,899 yards and 15 touchdowns, although he’s fumbled eight times, losing four.
Marshall’s latest arrest came the same weekend Cutler, a fellow 2006 draft pick who also made his first trip to the Pro Bowl last month, became indignant upon after learning McDaniels talked about trading him for Matt Cassel, whom he tutored in New England last year.
Cutler said his relationship with McDaniels is severely strained and added that he thinks he’s still on the trading block, something McDaniels denied.
Cutler and Marshall are by far the two most talented players that McDaniels, 32, inherited when he replaced Mike Shanahan, who was fired after a three-year run of mediocrity.
