Developments came out on Friday night in the Chris Rainey scandal, as now it appears the woman in question who was allegedly slapped by Rainey says she was never hit. According to Gainesville attorney Huntley Johnson, they are requesting that the case be dismissed.
According to Johnson via Steelers reporter Joe Starkey: Johnson said the woman had sent him an email before the hearing this morning, and he read the email to the judge. In it, Johnson explained, the woman said she was “never in fear.”
Johnson says she was “never struck.”
“This was a minor incident as far as she’s concerned,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there’s a case here. I think it’ll be dismissed or we’ll go to trial and prevail. We are not inclined to accept any kind of negotiation in this case. … This is a non-event. I don’t think this happened.”
As you probably remember, Rainey is accused of slapping his girlfriend in the face during an altercation over a cell phone and was charged with one count of simple battery or dating violence which is a first-degree misdemeanor.
The Steelers almost immediately issued a statement cutting ties with Rainey by waving him.
If this turns out to be a dismissed case or goes to court and Rainey is found not guilty, will the Steelers have jumped the gun in releasing their 2012 draft pick? Even in light of the Alameda Ta’amu incident earlier this past season, Rainey’s attorney thinks the Steelers did indeed jump the gun and released Rainey on a knee jerk reaction.
It would be hard to blame them as Rainey already had a previous issue on his record and they are trying to clean up their image a big by sending yet another message to their players and the rest of the NFL.
The team did bring back Ta’amu late in the season, and once Rainey is fully released from the team after the Super Bowl, assuming it gets that far, they could decide to give him a second chance if they want. Given the circumstances though and Rainey’s apparent lack of good judgment it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they decide to just let him walk away.