San Francisco 49ers’ defensive end Ray McDonald allegedly did something really bad. He is dealing with an issue off the field as he was arrested for felony domestic violence last week, having allegedly physically harmed his pregant fiance.
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Given the horrid nature of the allegations and the way that the temperature has been turned up on the NFL’s handling of domestic violence issues, McDonald could become a litmus test for new, harsher standards, depending on how his due process plays out. In the meantime, it appears that the 49ers are comfortable playing McDonald as the regular season gets underway.
This week head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that McDonald will play in the team’s season opening game against the Dallas Cowboys. From CSN Bay Area:
"Harbaugh said McDonald will play “as it stands now” in the regular-season opener.“I always feel like what the facts are and what’s known that Ray has the liberty to play in the game,” Harbaugh said.When asked whether the information gathered points favorably toward McDonald, Harbaugh declined to answer.“As we talked about the other day, in terms of that question, it’s a legal matter and I’ll refer back to that,” Harbaugh said."
This will hardly be a popular decision in terms of public perception, no matter if it is a reasonable decision from the 49ers or not. In pure football terms, the 49ers have to feel some urgency to play McDonald given the injuries and suspensions that have affected the rest of their defense. That is for now; as for later, how this process plays out will determine whether or not this becomes an ugly off-the-field situation or not.
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