Von Miller turned himself in last week after a warrant was issued for his arrest, but it does not sound like the situation has had any impact on his status with the Buffalo Bills.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters on Wednesday that Miller will be available to play in the team’s Week 14 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. When asked if he is concerned about what the public’s reaction to that decision will be, Beane said the Bills are waiting for the facts and not rushing to judgment.
Bills GM Brandon Beane on the backlash the organization will get on their decision to allow Von Miller to practice/play @WKBW pic.twitter.com/VtQ1kDUvXl
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 6, 2023
“You have to understand that the public or us, we only have so many of the facts,” Beane said. “If you look around this country, you see plenty of rushes to judgment, whether it’s sports and other things. Again, we’re not investigators here. We’re not qualified to do that. We’ll follow the lead of those people and let them do their jobs and we’ll take the information.”
A warrant was issued for Miller’s arrest last Thursday on a felony charge of assaulting a pregnant person. The charge stemmed from an alleged incident that took place the day prior between Miller and his girlfriend at Miller’s Dallas-area apartment.
According to police documents, Miller’s girlfriend told authorities that the 34-year-old had become physically violent with her following a disagreement about upcoming travel plans. The affidavit for Miller’s arrest stated that the star pass-rusher put his hands around the alleged victim’s neck and pulled her by her hair. You can read more details here.
Police observed visible marks on the woman when they arrived. In a 911 call that was obtained from the incident, the woman told the dispatcher that her boyfriend was “choking and hitting me” and said she has “bruises all over me.” She also told the dispatcher “my hair is out,” which seemed to be a reference to Miller allegedly pulling out a chunk of her hair.
Despite all that, the woman said last week that she was not assaulted and “things were blown way out of context.” You can read more of her comments here.
The Bills were on a bye in Week 13. The NFL could have made the decision to place Miller on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, but he remains eligible to play.
Miller missed several games to start the 2023 season as he recovered from an ACL injury. He has been a rotational player for the Bills and has just two tackles on the season.
This is not the first time Miller has faced legal trouble.
