January 15, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS — Colts coach Chuck Pagano got right to the point Thursday.
Josh McNary was put on the commissioner's exempt list less than 24 hours after city prosecutor's filed charges of rape, criminal confinement with bodily injury and battery resulting in bodily injury against the backup linebacker. He stopped there.
"I'm not going to go into any details," Pagano said, repeating the line two more times when asked what he told his players.
The roster move, which was granted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before Thursday's practice, means McNary cannot practice with his teammates or attend games including Sunday's AFC championship game at New England. He will, however, continue to get a paycheck.
Inside the locker room, there was one noticeable change: Two suitcases in front of McNary's locker.
Concerned teammates treaded lightly when asked about their reaction to the news.
"What did Chuck say?" defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois said. "Whatever Chuck said, I'm with that."
Even the usually boisterous and bold Pat McAfee, a Pro Bowl punter, toned it down. McAfee said players were "blind-sided" by the news.
"I feel sorry for all of the parties involved, but do believe in this country that you are innocent until proven guilty," he said. "If he is guilty of something, then I hope justice will be served."
According to the probable cause affidavit, which was released publicly Wednesday afternoon by the Marion County prosecutor's office, a 29-year-old woman accused an unknown man of attacking her in the early morning hours of Dec. 1. The document said police tracked information from a cellphone the woman allegedly took from the man's apartment and later determined that the man was McNary, an Army graduate who has spent the past two seasons with the Colts.
The woman's name was redacted from the report.
Early Thursday morning Ed Schrager, McNary's lawyer, issued a statement on behalf of his client denying the allegations. Schrager wrote that McNary had immediately reported to law enforcement officials in a "respectful and "peaceful" manner.
The Colts, who issued a statement Wednesday night saying they were trying collect more information, issued another Thursday morning to say that after reviewing the documentation supporting "very serious" criminal charges, they had asked Goodell to put McNary on the exempt list.
"That designation will permit the investigation provided by the league's personal conduct policy to run its course and will afford Josh the opportunity to focus on his defense against the charges," the statement read in part. "The Colts sincerely hope this extraordinarily serious matter will be resolved expeditiously and that justice will prevail."
The report details claims that McNary and the woman engaged in a "physical fight" in the man's apartment and that she had scratched his neck, face, back and shoulder. Police reported that a nurse found dried blood behind the woman's ear and other injuries following a sexual assault examination.
According to the report, the woman said she also believed the man slapped her on the left side of her face with his hands before the attack. And, the report said, the woman repeatedly told the man "no" and "stop." The document said police also listened to a 2-minute voicemail from the accuser to one of her friends.
"At one point, the female can be heard crying and becoming emotionally distraught," the report said.
Police reported that when they later showed the woman a photo lineup to identify who she left a bar with that night, the woman pointed to McNary's photo and said he "looked familiar." But she could not positively identify anyone from the photos.
The police wrote when they arrived at McNary's apartment to investigate, the player said: "I know why you're here." The report said McNary claimed to have preserved evidence because he expected to see the police.
McNary's attorney cautioned there is another side to the story.
"The charges and affidavit publicly disseminated on Wednesday afternoon are not evidence of wrong doing but simply one side's story," Schrager said in the statement.
"Joshua has full faith and confidence in the American way, including its justice system, which he pledged to protect and defend as a West Point graduate and lieutenant in the United States Army."
Schrager said no other statements would be made on behalf of or by McNary.
The 6-foot, 251-pound linebacker finished his college career as Army's career leader in sacks and tackles for loss, then spent two years on active military duty before seeking an early release so he could play in the NFL.
McNary signed with the Colts in April 2013 and has continued to fulfill his military obligation in the National Guard. He had 20 tackles during the regular season but has none in the Colts' two playoff wins.
Indianapolis (13-5) filled McNary's spot by promoting receiver Griff Whalen from the practice squad to the active roster. The Colts also signed defensive end Gannon Conway to take Whalen's spot on the practice squad.
