Dalvin Cook will seek to clear his name in court, if needed.
Dalvin Cook and his legal team are digging their heels in and preparing a legal battle, if needed. On Monday, in a conversation with ESPN, Cook’s attorney Ricky Patel asserted his client’s innocence, and maintained that they will not accept any plea deal. Even more: should the suit against Cook fail to be dropped, his team is prepared to countersue with civil charges against what Patel calls “false allegations.”
"“We are not interested in a plea,” Patel said. “It’s just not right here. It must be dropped or he must be found not guilty. If necessary we will file civil charges after these false allegations.”"
Cook was suspended indefinitely from FSU’s football team last week after being charged with battery for allegedly punching a woman in the head repeatedly. Patel claims that while Cook was at the location with several of his teammates, the running back never struck the accuser and left the scene as the situation escalated.
"“Dalvin Cook did not strike this woman,” Ricky Patel, a Miami-based attorney, said. “Players were leaving the scene at the same time. But Dalvin walked away before it got out of hand.”"
Patel also states that his client is being judged not based on evidence, but rather against ghosts of others’ transgressions, as domestic violence has become the central issue in football – both professional and college. In the NFL, the offenses of Ray Rice, Ray McDonald and Greg Hardy have all brought domestic violence to the forefront. At FSU alone, sexual assault allegations against former quarterback Jameis Winston, battery allegations against former running back Karlos Williams, and footage of now-dismissed quarterback De’Andre Johnson punching a woman in the face at a bar have created a current of negative public opinion against which Cook must now swim. Factor in recent news that last year Cook was cited by Tallahassee Animal Control for failing to provide shelter for his three dogs, and Patel believes his client is not receiving a fair shake.
"“There has been so much turmoil at FSU and there is a huge cloud, so [FSU] wants to make sure 100 percent that Dalvin has not done anything inappropriate.”…“I am hoping it doesn’t create a bias,” Patel said. “This is not a Michael Vick situation.”"
Patel has doubled down by stating that, while Cook, “is not an individual that would be involved in attacking a woman,” there is also no video proof against his client. And even though Cook walked away, he has been subjected to an unfair police lineup, intoxicated witnesses and condemnation due to his status on the team.
"“This is not clean,” Patel said. “There are conflicting statements. The woman and her dad — who was not there — identified Dalvin after being shown social-media pictures of Dalvin and some random people. It was an extremely unfair ‘lineup.’ The pressure is so high the assumption is ‘he did it.’ There is no judge and jury here. It’s just not right.”"
In the wake of Cook’s suspension, university president John Thrasher issued a terse statement that essentially called for a zero-tolerance policy, while head coach Jimbo Fisher banned players from going to bars. There are also rumors that Fisher has been put on notice to clean up his program’s image.
Historically, FSU has been a program that waits for the legal process to sort itself out before levying punishment (except in the extreme situation of somebody like Johnson, in which case there’s damning video evidence). It’ll be interesting to see if, after lawyering up and drawing a line in the sand, Cook’s situation is quickly resolved like that of former teammate Williams, or if it has several lifecycle’s like that of Winston’s cases. For now Cook remains suspended from the team.