Attorneys representing embattled Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs have issued a forceful response to battery allegations made by several women, saying they possess a “substantial body of tangible evidence” that challenges the claims.
Jacobs was arrested after his then-girlfriend accused him of attacking her on May 23, alleging that he threw her to the ground and damaged her cellphone.
The Hobart-Lawrence Police Department last week released investigative records that also included similar allegations from three other women dating back several years.
The disclosure prompted an angry reaction from Jacobs’ legal team, which accused police of participating in a “character assassination” that could unfairly jeopardize the NFL star’s career.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, David Z Chesnoff, Richard A Schonfeld, and Clarence F Duchac III said: “Last week the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department released its case file to media. The file includes summaries of three telephone interviews describing events in 2021 and 2022. Josh Jacobs denies all three accounts and has a substantial body of tangible evidence to back up his assertions.
“The police department’s released file contains only phone interviews conducted years after the alleged events. There was no further investigation, other than an acknowledgement that Josh had done nothing wrong.
Josh Jacobs faces battery allegations from multiple women, all of which he strongly denies
Jacobs was arrested following the alleged battery incident, with footage released this week
“Josh was never given the chance to provide Hobart-Lawrence with evidence in response to the uncorroborated report, largely because the department took no action regarding the old and unsupported allegations.
“One of the three women made a complaint to the NFL, which investigated and determined that no action was necessary. Josh has retained evidence supporting his version of events and the league’s decision. Nothing in the released file suggests that this evidence was reviewed or even requested. In fact, the police report did not include any of that information.”
The attorneys then addressed the allegations individually, pointing to police records they say weaken at least one woman’s account.
Their statement continued: “The three accounts are dated, based on hearsay and readily disproven, yet police released them to the media without conducting an investigation to establish whether they were accurate or contradicted by evidence.
“Josh is responding in detail because of the character assassination now taking place, which is unfairly threatening his career.”
In September, Jacobs entered no-contest pleas to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property. The resolution allowed him to avoid prison, although he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs.
After returning to action, Jacobs appeared to celebrate a touchdown by mimicking being handcuffed. He later said the gesture was inspired by a gospel song
Jacobs was arrested on May 26 after being accused of attacking his then-live-in girlfriend
If Jacobs completes a series of conditions over the next 12 months, the criminal damage charge could be dismissed entirely.
The NFL’s investigation into the May 23 incident remains open, and it is not yet known whether the latest allegations will affect Jacobs’ status in the league. He remains available to the Packers, who are scheduled to play in New England on November 8.
“We will review these allegations as part of the investigation, which has remained open,” the NFL said in a statement.
The newly reported claims involve alleged incidents from Jacobs’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders. Several women accused him of becoming aggressive after they rejected his sexual advances and said he took or damaged their phones—details that echo the allegations made by his most recent accuser to Hobart-Lawrence police.
Jacobs has called himself “remorseful” over the May 23 incident and said he regretted becoming a distraction for his teammates. His lawyers declined to comment further on October 16, while maintaining that he had accepted responsibility for his conduct.
The police records released last week contain a series of troubling claims involving the Packers running back.
One woman contacted Hobart-Lawrence police after Jacobs’ arrest and initially said she had experienced a similar incident with him in approximately 2023. She later amended her account, saying it occurred on January 5, 2022.
Green Bay went 4-2 without Jacobs despite ranking last in the NFL in rushing at 59.8 yards per game. The former Alabama star has appeared in two games this season
She told police that she spent 11 hours at Jacobs’ home before he allegedly became violent when she declined to have sex. According to her account, Jacobs slapped her, spat at her and threw her phone into a pool as she tried to leave. She further alleged that he pulled her by the hair, threw her onto a bed and then the floor, and threatened to kill her.
The woman said she remained friends with Jacobs afterward and did not report the incident because she feared she would not be believed. However, his arrest in May led her to contact police because she believed it indicated a potentially dangerous pattern.
A second allegation dates to April 2021, when Jacobs was playing for the Raiders.
That woman alleged Jacobs became aggressive during a sexual encounter after she told him a condom had broken. She said she told him they both needed to undergo testing for sexually transmitted infections because each had also been intimate with other partners.
The woman told officers that Jacobs allegedly forced her out of the home by grabbing her arms and pushing her into a wall before throwing her belongings outside. Records obtained by Hobart-Lawrence police noted that she did not have visible injuries.
In another account, a woman said she met Jacobs through social media in 2022 and flew to his home. She alleged that he grabbed her hair, head and neck, dragged her, scratched her chest and took her cellphone after finding it on the floor.
The NFL investigation into the multiple domestic abuse allegations against Jacobs is ongoing
All three newly disclosed allegations relate to Jacobs’ years with the Raiders. The three-time Pro Bowl selection joined Green Bay in 2024, almost two years before his Wisconsin arrest.
Jacobs sat out the Packers’ first six games of the season while the NFL investigated the domestic abuse allegations.
After scoring at Lambeau Field on Thursday, he held his hands behind his back in a gesture that appeared to imitate being handcuffed, only months after his arrest in May.
Jacobs later said the celebration was religious in nature and formed part of a series inspired by the gospel song “Break Every Chain.” He said the idea had been developed with teammate Savion Williams.
He also expressed frustration that the Amazon Prime Video broadcast failed to show the full celebration sequence.
