Junior Galette reportedly shown hitting woman with belt (video)
New Orleans Saints defensive end Junior Galette might be in very serious trouble. Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune is reporting that the man in the following video swinging a belt, which strikes a woman twice, is Galette. The video was uploaded to YouTube in 2013 and according to the aforementioned report, the National Football League is aware of it.
Galette, 27, is already scheduled to meet with the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell for his violation of the league’s personal conduct policy via a January arrest for domestic violence. While the charges were dropped in that case, this video does not give Galette the appearance of a man who will get the benefit of the doubt in anything with Goodell.
Recently, Galette apologized to Saints fans for his behavior since the conclusion of last season, per Holder’s piece:
"“Really, at this level, you can conduct yourself as good, as choir boy as you want, sometimes the trouble comes to you,” Galette said Wednesday of the January incident. “In that situation, there was nothing I could do. Everything, if I could do it all over again, there’s not much different that I can do as far as what this person wants for me out of my life.“You really don’t know what are the warning signs for that. If somebody’s going to cross you and try to take everything you have, basically, but it is what it is. I’ve learned my lesson, and I just want to play football again. That’s all that matters right now.”"
Galette is an important player for New Orleans, although that clearly takes a back seat at the moment. Last year, Galette had 10 sacks with 31.5 for his career. The Saints will have an impossible time cutting him if they want to go that route, with his contract running through 2019. With the way general manager Mickey Loomis structured the deal, Galette can’t reasonably be cut until after the 2017 season (details via Spotrac).
Goodell has the power to suspend Galette in any way he sees fit. When video surfaced of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, he was suspended indefinitely on Sept. 8 before being reinstated on Nov. 28. He was not picked up by any team and remains a free agent.