The Baltimore Ravens announced earlier this week that Jimmy Smith has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and at least one of the veteran cornerback’s teammates feels the punishment was too harsh.
Smith’s suspension stems from the mother of his child accusing him of a “history of substance abuse” and being “physically violent” toward her. Smith denied the allegations and was never charged, but the Ravens said they found evidence of “threatening and emotionally abusive behaviors” by Smith toward the woman. Fellow defensive back Eric Weddle does not think that is enough to warrant a four-game ban.
“It’s hard to fathom arguing with your [significant other], never touching her and that gets you a suspension like this when guys are getting DUIs or physically abusing other people, and they never get near this [penalty],” Weddle said, via Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun. “I know details of it that I can’t get into, so I just feel bad for him.”
Weddle seemed to imply that Smith told him a different side of the story and he believes his teammate, though he added that Smith can’t defend himself because “it’ll be a lot worse in the grand scheme of things.”
“It was never a physical confrontation. So obviously, there are some issues of he said and she said, things that he may want [to take] back,” Weddle added. “But it’s done now. Jimmy’s an up-front guy.”
Smith was suspended last season for a different issue, but Weddle spoke highly of his character. While the exact details of the situation are not known, the Ravens and the NFL obviously felt what Smith did was bad enough to justify the 30-year-old missing a quarter of the 2018 season.
