San Francisco 49ers: No Charges for DE Ray McDonald; What's Next?

When news broke on August 31 that Ray McDonald had been arrested for domestic violence charges, it triggered a flotilla of articles critiquing how the San Francisco 49ers were handling the situation.  Should they cut McDonald outright?  Should they sit him while waiting for the process to play out?

Well, the process has now played out, and the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office has decided not to press charges, citing a lack of evidence, reports ESPN.com's Tim McKeown.  The district attorney in charge of the case, Lindsay Walsh, summed up the DA’s decision as follows:

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Conflicting versions of the event, a lack of verifiable eyewitnesses and a significant lack of cooperation from Jane Doe; we cannot prove a crime occurred.  In this particular case, there were particular pieces of information missing.

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You can read the entire memo courtesy of David Fucillo of Niners Nation here (via Scribd); it covers the events of the nights of August 30-31, as well as the legal statutes in play.  It also addresses the potential conflict of interest provided by the relationship between the 49ers organization and the police force, as well as why they ultimately opted not to press charges.

While some of the contents of the memo may be upsetting, I still urge you to read it before making up your own opinion as to the legitimacy of the charges; there’s nothing like a primary source to really dig into the facts of the case.

We’ll never truly know what went down at McDonald’s birthday party or the exact circumstances leading to the decision to drop charges.  While the DA’s office dismisses the notion that the relationship between the SJPD and the franchise had any impact on the case, the fact that the first officer on the scene worked security for the 49ers and was sent not by the police but by the 49ers’ security director does bring some pause.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

The end results, however, do vindicate the 49ers somewhat—they did not bow to outside pressure to sit or cut McDonald, instead deciding to let due process play out.  With no charges being filed, they will be able to claim victory on this one, saying that their player has been vindicated and cleared.

I was one of the people arguing that the 49ers should deactivate McDonald prior to the opening game against the Dallas Cowboys while the facts were still being gathered; it was only a week after the initial charges, and in the midst of the Ray Rice scandal to boot.  I felt that if I were running the team, I would not be comfortable having McDonald represent my club until more information had come to light.

Now, obviously, I didn’t have as much information as the 49ers had, and perhaps they heard enough from both McDonald and the first officer on the scene about what happened to feel comfortable letting the process take its course.  It may not have been the decision I would have made, but I do credit the 49ers for taking the defensible stance of waiting for due process and then sticking to it.

We’ve seen how a team can bungle a situation like this with the Baltimore Ravens and Ray Rice; the 49ers didn’t play up what a good person McDonald was or highlight community service or anything of that matter.  They opted to let the police run their investigation, and the decision to not file charges vindicates their position somewhat.

Most of the people who called for McDonald to be deactivated—including former 49ers players Jerry Rice and Steve Young—have been silent on the 49ers stance since the decision not to file charges has come down.

I’m not expecting nearly the volume of articles and stances to come out now as did at the time.  Two analysts who have responded to the DA’s decision, from two different sides, were the San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami and ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

For my part, I hope the reason the DA couldn’t find enough evidence to charge McDonald is because there was no domestic violence committed on October 31, as opposed to simply a lack of cooperation from the Jane Doe in the case.

I hope that this is the last incident we ever hear involving McDonald and violence.  I hope that next time there is an incident, either with McDonald or another 49er, that the regular police handle the investigation from start to finish, rather than an officer with a pre-existing relationship with the team.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

I also hope that the NFL’s new guidelines regarding domestic violence do help prevent more instances occurring.  It remains to be seen if the NFL will levy any punishment on McDonald for the incident.  At the time of the arrest, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated that the league would wait for the process to play out before applying its new policies.  That time is now, and what the league will do is anyone’s guess.

There is a precedent for players being suspended without charges being filed, as in the Ben Roethlisberger case from 2010.  There is also a precedent for the NFL changing its mind with regard to punishment, as in the case of Rice’s suspension being made indefinite after the video of his domestic violence situation came to light.

Considering the NFL is currently defending itself in an appeal about Rice’s suspension, I have a feeling it’ll leave the McDonald situation alone.  Its biggest concern, for good and ill, is its public image, and bringing the McDonald case back into the limelight might harm that.  I think the NFL will be content to let it fade into the background.  Either way, I’d expect a decision to be made in the next week or so.

For his part, McDonald seems very happy to put this incident behind him:

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I appreciate the seriousness of the situation and I understand and respect that law enforcement had a job to do, which is why I cooperated fully with their investigation from beginning to end. I am relieved that the DA's office has rightfully decided not to file charges. I want to thank everyone who was supportive during this difficult time.

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A similar statement was released by the 49ers:

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The issue of domestic violence is important to us, as it is throughout society. We have taken this allegation seriously, just as we have taken the principles of due process seriously. We have said from the beginning that we will consider the information available, allow the facts to lead to our decisions and respect the judicial process.

Based on the information available to us and the District Attorney's decision not to file charges, there will be no change in Ray's status with the team.

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Hopefully, this will be the last time a 49er falls under violation of the personal-conduct policy.  They’ve had more than their fair share of issues with the law over the past 18 months.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.