Most training camp stories are verging on pablum or very close to it, but the ongoing narrative of Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper just took yet another shocking twist with the news that Cooper intends to report for training camp, according to a pair of reports from Parker Gabriel, Luca Evans and Sean Keeler of the Denver Post.
Gabriel and Evans provided the bare bones details, saying that according to a source with knowledge of the situation, Cooper intends to report for the first day of training camp today, despite the fact that he’s facing a felony assault charge in Douglas County.
It’s unclear whether Cooper will practice, and to what degree he’ll be around the team. Cooper made a virtual plea in court last week, and his arraignment is set for Aug. 31. His court appearance stems from a pair of arrests due to a domestic violence incident between Cooper and his former girl friend, who experienced "strangulation with hypoxia and traumatic brain injury," and the injury involved a "substantial risk of death."
An NFL spokesperson told the writers that Cooper’s incident was still under review, according to the terms of the league’s personal conduct policy. If he’s found guilty of criminal assualt, Cooper would face a suspension that would likely be for six games, but that number could be scaled up or down.
Cooper has yet to be placed on the league’s Commissioner Exampt List, which would require Cooper to remain away from the team while his legal proceedings unfold. The 28-year old linebacker is set to make $12 million this season, and the Broncos have only said that they’ll follow the league’s lead in this matter.
Keeler took a different angle on the story, as he interviewed a woman named Wellesley Bush, who’s been a Broncos season ticket holder since 1996, along with a partner and community outreach manager at Denver’s Rose Andom Center, which the columnist described as “one of the largest domestic violence and sexual assault support hub in the Mountain Time Zone.”
Keeler asked if the conflict between being a Broncos fan and her role with the center complicates things for Bush, but she didn’t see it that way.
“I don’t see it as all that complicated,” Bush said. “You can’t do that to another human being. It’s not OK. Whether it’s about money or how good someone is as a player, it’s not OK. You don’t make an excuse for that.”
Natasha Adler is the program director at the center, and she mentioned not wanting to interfere with the Broncos doing well on the field, but she quickly walked that back a bit.
I think this goes a little bit beyond (that),” Adler said. “So to give this person a platform, to say … ‘you made a mistake and you can still continue to do your job and represent this team and this city on a wide platform and everything that comes with it,’ I think, would be grossly irresponsible.”
