The Green Bay Packers will not release running back Josh Jacobs amid a new swath of domestic battery allegations released just one day after he made his season debut on Thursday Night Football.
Jacobs was arrested on May 23 after he was accused of attacking his then-girlfriend. Last Friday, Hobart-Lawrence Police released records showing that three additional women accused the running back of similar behavior years ago.
Addressing the findings at a press conference on Monday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that Jacobs will remain on the team’s roster for the time being.
‘We’re going to let everything play out and go from there,’ LaFleur told reporters.
The coach added that the team will ‘continue to allow the NFL to go through its investigative process,’ according to ESPN’s Packers reporter Rob Demovsky.
Football fans were angry over this decision and took to social media to air their thoughts and grievances.
The Packers will not be cutting running back Josh Jacobs amid a police record release
Jacobs has been accused of battery by multiple women, something he strongly disputes
Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters the team will ‘let everything play out’ with Jacobs’ criminal trial as well as any punishment that could be handed down from an NFL investigation
‘What did you expect from a classless organization.?’ wrote one user on X.
Another said, ‘so I’m gonna have to wait for the video of him beating a woman to come out for the team to take any action huh? fucking bulls***.’
‘0 reason he should be allowed on the field right now, I mean are we kidding?’ read another comment.
One user simply posted: ‘what a joke.’
‘Just one time it would be nice if someone, literally anyone, did the right thing,’ another user remarked.
One Packers fan wrote: ‘I think they would have to wait for an actual suspension to happen or something legally to happen to cut him and not worry about his salary being a big hit on the books/something he could sue over. Trust me, I don’t like it either, but he stays on the roster for now, I guess.’
The police department’s release of records has sparked a furious reaction from Jacobs’ lawyers, who claim the ‘character assassination’ of Jacobs is ‘unfairly threatening his career.’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, David Z Chesnoff, Richard A Schonfeld, and Clarence F Duchac III said: ‘Last week the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department released its case file to media. The file includes summaries of three telephone interviews describing events in 2021 and 2022. Josh Jacobs denies all three accounts and has a substantial body of tangible evidence to back up his assertions.
Jacobs was taken into custody after the alleged battery, and footage was released this week
On his return to the field, Jacobs appeared to celebrate a touchdown by pretending to be handcuffed. He offered an explanation claiming the move was inspired by a gospel song
‘The police department’s released file contains only phone interviews, taken years after the fact, with no additional investigation, save for an acknowledgement that Josh did nothing wrong.
‘Josh was not given an opportunity to present evidence to Hobart-Lawrence in response to the uncorroborated report, primarily because Hobart-Lawrence took no action related to the unsupported and stale allegations.
‘One of these three women made a claim to the NFL, which reviewed it and decided no action was warranted. Josh has kept evidence that supports his accounts and the NFL’s decision. Nothing in the released file indicates that any such evidence was used or even sought. Indeed, the police report did not even present any of this information.’
The lengthy statement goes on to address each claim on its own merit, referencing police reports they claim ‘undermine’ one of the woman’s claims.
The furious riposte continues: ‘The three accounts are old, are hearsay, and easily disproven, yet released to the media by police without any investigation to determine whether they were accurate or contradicted by evidence.
‘Josh is answering them in detail because of the character assassination that is occurring, unfairly threatening his career.’
In September, the Packers running back pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of battery and criminal damage to property, thereby allowing him to avoid prison time while paying only a $1,000 fine and court fees.
Jacobs was arrested on May 26 after being accused of attacking his then-live-in girlfriend
By fulfilling a handful of conditions for 12 months, Jacobs can have the criminal damage to property charge dismissed entirely.
The NFL is still investigating Jacobs over the May 23 incident and it’s unclear how the new allegations could impact his future standing in the league. For now, he remains active for the Packers, who play again on November 8 in New England.
‘We will review these allegations as part of the investigation which has remained open,’ read a league statement.
Those new allegations include claims Jacobs became abusive with women who denied his sexual advances during his previous tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders. Several women claim Jacobs took or destroyed their mobile phones, just as his latest accuser described to Hobart/Lawrence police.
Jacobs has described himself as ‘remorseful’ over the May 23 incident, saying he regrets causing a distraction for teammates. His attorneys declined any further comment back on October 16, while insisting he had accepted responsibility for his actions.
The newly released records contain disturbing allegations against their client.
One woman reached out to Hobart/Lawrence police following his arrest to say she had a similar experience with him around 2023 before later correcting herself and claiming the incident occurred on January 5, 2022.
The Packers went 4-2 without Jacobs despite a ground game that ranked dead last in the NFL with just 59.8 yards per game rushing. The ex-Alabama star has played in two games this year
The woman said she spent 11 hours at Jacobs’ home, only for the former Alabama star to become violent when she refused sex. She claims Jacobs allegedly slapped her, spat on her and tossed her phone in his pool as she attempted to leave. Ultimately, she said, he grabbed her by the hair and proceeded to throw her onto a bed and then the floor before threatening to kill her.
She admittedly remained friends with Jacobs after the incident and said she didn’t tell police because she didn’t think she would be believed. However, she said, when he was arrested in May, she felt compelled to contact police because this suddenly seemed like a pattern of dangerous behavior.
Another allegation stems from April of 2021, when Jacobs was still a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
According to this accuser, Jacobs became violent during a sexual encounter when she told him the condom broke. The woman said she told Jacobs they both needed to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases because they’d each been involved with other partners.
Jacobs allegedly then physically removed her from the residence by grabbing her arms, pushing her against the wall and throwing her belongings out, she told officers at the time. Hobart/Lawrence police obtained records from that incident that stated the alleged victim did not show visible signs of injury on her body.
A year later, Jacobs allegedly met another woman through social media and flew her to his residence, where she said he grabbed her hair, head and neck, dragged her, scratched her chest and ultimately took her phone after discovering it on the floor.
Jacobs is still being investigated by the NFL over the multiple allegations of domestic abuse
All of the new allegations against Jacobs stem from his time with the Raiders. The three-time Pro Bowl selection joined the Packers in 2024, nearly two years before his arrest in Wisconsin.
Jacobs missed the first six games of the season amid a league investigation into allegations of domestic abuse.
After finding the end zone on Thursday at Lambeau Field, he clasped his hands behind his back, appearing to mimic being placed in handcuffs just months after his arrest in May.
But Jacobs later claimed the celebration actually had religious meaning and was part of a sequence of celebrations inspired by the gospel song ‘Break Every Chain’ in a plan concocted with teammate Savion Williams.
He also complained Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast did not pick up the entire sequence.
