Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton did not travel with the team for their season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, and we may now know why.
Burton was accused of assaulting a woman he was dating in an alleged incident on Dec. 30, according to police records that were obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer. The 19-year-old did not press charges.
The Enquirer submitted a public records request after Burton did not travel to Pittsburgh with the Bengals for what was labeled a coach’s decision. Rumors had surfaced on social media over the weekend claiming Burton assaulted a woman. Burton seemingly responded via his Instagram story on Saturday with a message that said “*lies*. Stop hitting my phone.”
Police records show that a woman called 911 on the morning of Oct. 30 and claimed that Burton assaulted her at an apartment in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Oakley after the two had gone out together. The woman said Burton chased her inside, damaged her phone, and choked her. She said the 23-year-old Burton also held a knife to his own neck and threatened to kill himself.
“Jermaine Burton on the Bengals just broke into my house. He broke my phone,” the woman told a dispatcher.” He’s been like pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don’t tolerate.”
The woman said she and Burton parted ways following an argument when they were out together but that Burton was waiting for her when she got home.
“He broke into my house. He broke my phone. This is the second time he’s broken my phone in the past month. He broke my phone. He hit me and he left,” the woman said.
Burton was gone when police arrived. The woman said both she and Burton had been drinking but that she was not intoxicated. The report states that she suffered minor injuries but did not need medical attention. The woman initially said she wanted to press charges but then changed her mind.
The Bengals drafted Burton in the third round out of Alabama last year. He had disciplinary issues in college, including one that stemmed from him assaulting a female fan after a game.
There were some suggestions that Burton slept through team meetings before the preseason had even ended, though Burton denied those. He finished with just 4 catches for 107 yards in his rookie season.
