DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2019 NFL Season 2019 NFL Draft Jeffrey Simmons banned from the Combine

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001...ited-to-combine

Past transgressions are keeping two NFL prospects from participating in the NFL Scouting Combine.

Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and Colorado State wide receiver Preston Williams have been informed they won't be invited to the combine because they don't meet the criteria under the NFL's policy about past issues involving violence, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, per sources informed of the situation.

Simmons was arrested in 2016 after a physical altercation with a woman, and Williams was arrested in 2017 for an altercation involving a woman, Pelissero added. They're the only two known to be barred under the policy this year, but invitations have been rescinded in the past following background checks, Pelissero reported.

Williams eventually pleaded guilty to a harassment charge and received a deferred sentence. Simmons was charged with simple assault and disturbing the peace and pleaded no contest. He was fined close to $500 for the simple assault plea and $300 for being found guilty of malicious mischief, and also had to pay over $800 in restitution.

Simmons, who racked up 157 tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and six passes defensed in three seasons at Mississippi State, is projected as a potential top-10 pick. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah has him going to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 7 in his first mock draft, while Bucky Brooks predicted Simmons ends up being selected 27th by the Oakland Raiders.

I'm already on record as advocating that Simmons be drafted by the Browns. I do not condone violence against women. I have two daughters. Each case has to be judged on its own merits.

Simply put this violent encounter happened between his graduation from high school and his enrollment at Mississippi St. He was 18. He committed the offense. He has not had a single incident of any criminal involvement since that time. If due diligence is exercised and he his evaluated to be at low risk of offending again then he will be drafted. I expect him to still go in round 1. Special measures are likely to be implemented by any team taking him.

I understand the optics this presents to the league. Some expression of condemnation had to be made. How Simmons handles the blistering media scrutiny that is coming will tell a great deal.

Not sure what to make of this. Is that the extent, no Combine for you? maybe they come in with some punishment attached for repeat violation. Glad to see something; wish it was more defined, I guess. Optics happen when a solid decision has failed to be made.

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone who has watched this team regularly would hope for a RT in the first round...

Our run defence has been pathetic and continues to haunt us and has cost us more wins than any other element. We need two standout front 7 players.

If you didn’t have two daughters would this still okay?

The dude assaulted another person. That is the bottom line

Question: is there ever a time when hitting a woman is jusified?!

No there's not. And I'm one who would never do that.

But to play devil's advocate here, how long do you punish someone for it? Even Florida passed into law that a person who has committed a felony, once they have paid their price to society has the right to vote. It's that way in many states.

So while there's no excuse for ever hitting a woman, how long should one be punished for such an offense? Isn't it up to the court system as to what his punishment should be?

I do see it differently in terms of drafting a player. That's an investment for a corporation. They certainly need to take a players history into account when considering making such an investment. But as a society and as fans, I do wonder why we believe that we should take a mistake made by an athlete and hold it in perpetuity.

Good point Pit. My question was about the act, not the punishment. So why I agree with you. I do not agree with some others who might just shrug it off as if it should be condoned under any circumstances. A man walks away.

There are consequences and I guess not be invited to the combine is one of them.

Hopefully he learned a big lesson. I don't think that this will effect his draft status.

When Rhonda Rousey Roadhouse's you?

Anyone remember the movie 'Play Misty for Me'?

While in most instances, it's not right to hit a woman, there are no universals. If, for instance, a woman is attacking you and you have to defend yourself (Rhonda Rousey Roadhouse's you). As a cop, I have seen times when a woman was in all-out attack mode. In such a case, stopping the attack might involve hitting her. (Most such cases, she will try to flip the script and make you out to be the attacker.)

Not to my knowledge. Everything that I've read says that he hasn't had any trouble since going to Starkville.



I've never seen the video, if I had that would probably sway me. I mentioned my daughters because I wanted to make clear that I am not unaware of the implications of violence against women. What mitigates it to some extent is that he was a high school kid. Yes, 18 is legally an adult but does adolescent decision making play a role? I can't say with certainty. I'm most influenced by the absence of repeat offending. I understand, by reports I've read, he's consistently owned his responsibility for the incident. To my knowledge, he hasn't tried to minimize his guilt.

He is also a great football player and I can't ignore the reality that someone is going to take a chance on him. I think his ability is too great to allow him to fall out of round 1. Without this conviction in his past, I think he would be a top 10 selection.

Whoever takes him might consider having him work with Ray Rice who continues to do work with men who have committed these acts. Work he's done without hope of returning to the league.

Is that morally expedient on my part? That's for others to judge. I'm just being honest about my evaluation of the player.

Sure there is. Women aren't untouchables.

I am not commenting on this case. I am simply commenting on your comment.

We could name 100 situations where a man would be justified to punch a woman in the chops.

Not just athletes but people in general.

Every mistake should be judged on its own merits. The crime, the person, the punishment, the track record. Everything.

These blanket thoughts that people should be punished for the rest of their lives because of an incident drive me mad. People are imperfect.

GC.

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone thinks the Browns need two standard front 7 players in the draft, at this point in year,

(probably wouldn't be better than what they already have, no upgrade at the position, a wasted pick each time)

The Browns need difference makers that help them win.

Another Top Notch Tight End.

Another Top Notch Safety.

Add them to the rotation, and they help you situationally create matchup problems for opponents.

THere are very few men that would wake up from that...LOL

what is a roadhouse - roundhouse i get - but roadhouse?

Maybe a Patrick Swayze Roadhouse.

The team was 28th in rushing defense last season. 25th in passing defense. It was the turnovers that masked this problem last year. They won't compete for the division title with production like that.

Interestingly, the team was 5th in defensive 3rd down conversions. But the revealing stat is that they were 27th in defensive 4th down conversion percentage. Where they allowed a whopping 65% conversion rate. All stats courtesy of teamrankings.com. Although I don't have a stat for how often opposing offenses go for it on 4th down; the naked eye says it's on the rise. This just illustrates that they don't have the players who can shut down must-win short yardage situations.

A lot of posters and much of the media say the Browns OL is one of the best in the league. Few are saying the same thing about the DL. There are nice pieces on the defense but the most glaring weakness is interior DL. The team could also stand upgrades at LB and DB too.

Yes, we need playmakers but the priority should be defensive playmakers. Especially in this draft loaded with players that can help correct this problem.

Do the due diligence on his background - if clean and he checks out properly - after the 1 incident - if he is available at #17, I take this guy all day long.

Dorsey has shown a proclivity for taking chances on talented players with past issues in the draft (Peters, Hill, Hunt, Calloway, etc.).

Now that you mention it, Bonefish, I am really relaxed for the draft, mores than I have been in years. BM has helped kill a lot of the cheap shot stories media smears love to run. Dorsey is on it. I just feel if not optimistic, comfortable then with where we are. We have enough to go to war with a bunch of folks, and we have some coaches who seemingly dare to make a difference. We may not be THERE yet, but this beats a bunch of places that we have been since The Return.

Pass on the woman beaters. Thanks John.

This article contains Simmons response after receiving news that he would not be invited to the Combine.

I'm adding more incident-specific information because I just learned these details. I tried to Google the original video but did not find it. Instead, I read a couple of web articles from around the time of the original incident. Basically, Simmons younger sister, he was 17 at the time was involved in a physical altercation with one or more adult women. Simmons became physically involved to protect his little sister. That gives the incident more context.

And his Facebook apology (via Twitter) ...

https://twitter.com/AlexMcDaniel/status/713876069263282176/photo/1

well, upon further review - that was not a good look.

Oh, okay ... I am just glad that a tough guy like you didn't marry my sisters and daughter.

The degradation of our society is alive and well in the comment section.

I think its pretty clear he was talking about cases involving self-defense.

That's a low blow. What if a group of women are ganging up and beating the life out of someone? What if a woman is trying to gouge your wife's eyes out? What if a woman is wailing on their child with a belt? What non-violent interventions would you use in those cases? (Let's just assume telling them to stop isn't working.)

If she comes at you with a knife you had better hope she didn't run track.

You got that right....and hope you get a good head start even if she didn't.

Where I come from my parents would have kicked my *** for not protecting my sister in that situation.

This is a completely different thing than the Kareem Hunt situation. I'm from Toledo, I was always a big fan of his. But Hunt is a grown man, fighting a woman for not wanting to leave his party after refusing to have sex with one of his boys. That's some next level ill s***.

Didn't look to me like he was protecting his sister. From what I saw in the video it look more like they attacked the other woman. You see a bunch of people standing around in what looks like a parking lot at an apartment complex and two women start arguing, then they attack each other and end up going to the ground pulling each other's hair when one guy steps in to pull them apart, then Simmons pulls the other lady from his sister and while the other woman is on the ground he just starts beating on her till some big chick jumps in and starts whooping on the other lady too then Simmons stops and walks away while the big lady keeps hitting the other woman who is still on the ground.

I don't know, bro. He looked pretty damn aggressive and I'm not sure about the protection thing.

Not really arguing, but he didn't look too innocent to me.

I'm sure this isn't news to anyone. Teams have investigators for these types of situations. Hopefully, the Browns do a thorough investigation.

Investigate all you want - my eyes don't lie. He separated the 2 women then came back for a little beat down, dumbass - clear as day - big piece of sh@#(@#t, in my estimation. Move on...

LOL....not being a internet tough guy, nor saying I advocate such. Just saying it's crazy to say there is no situation where hitting a woman isn't justified.

In his twitter apology, it mentions that the woman had been talking smack about his recently deceased nephews. Not that it excuses his actions, but bad mouthing dead relatives is bound to stir up some anger. Throw in the fact that he's pretty much been trained to be aggressive as a DT and was an 18 y/o athlete so his body is probably swimming with testosterone, and it's not a good recipe. Add in the protective instinct for his sister, and, while I still can't condone it, I can certainly somewhat understand it.