Buffalo Bills GM gives update on Von Miller, says alleged abuse ‘seems out of character’
Orchard Park, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller is with the team and set to practice on Wednesday just six days after the 34-year-old was arrested on domestic violence charges last Thursday.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane met with reporters today and said that Miller will be a part of the team and that he’s set to play on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Beane said the Bills have spoken with Miller, his agent, and have been working with the league as it runs an ongoing investigation into the incident. With the information the Bills have right now, they don’t anticipate Miller will land on the Commissioner Exempt List, which is a special player status available to teams dealing with unusual circumstances
“Anytime it’s an ongoing investigation, if something was uncovered, the Commissioner does have (the ability put a player on the exempt list) at any point if he feels there was something, hey, this doesn’t look good or something like that,” Beane said. “With our knowledge of what we have today, we don’t expect that.”
Miller was arrested last Thursday after his pregnant girlfriend called 911 and accused him of assaulting her. According to the Dallas police affidavit of the incident, Miller pulled out chunks of the woman’s hair and wrapped both of his hands around her neck.
Beane said that you never want anyone in your organization to have allegations made against them like the ones that were made against Miller last week.
“That’s a very serious nature and something that we would definitely … we’re gonna take every precaution with,” he said. “Culture and character and all those things are super important. But we also have to remember we have to let the legal process play out. The guy that we’ve known here for a year and a half – that seems out of character.”
Beane was asked whether there were internal considerations to disciplining Miller this week but he said that the Bills are following the NFL’s lead on the investigation.
“If you get into sitting guys or disciplining guys without the right information, that can be a little bit dangerous,” Beane said. “We weren’t there, we’re not investigators. We had our conversations with Von and understood what he believes happened and so from that standpoint, we can’t get into it.”
Beane said the Bills have had fairly regular communication with the NFL. If the league feels there’s something that comes up in their investigation, Beane said it would get on the phone and explain why there may be a need to change course.
Beane said he’s sure Miller is disappointed in the situation and that no one wants their name associated with any accusation like the ones made against Miller.
“Character’s very important to us here in Buffalo. I think you’ve seen that and we want everyone to be model citizens and never have their name in the police blotter,” Beane said. “But things happen sometimes and again, we have to give them their fair due process. That can happen to anyone … and I would hope we would all wait and let that play out before we rush to judgment.”
