New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore faces a charge of assault and battery on a family or household member, according to Attleboro (Massachusetts) District Court documents.
Barmore is accused of assaulting Sloan Smith-Jurdsky, the mother of his child, on Aug. 8, per a criminal complaint issued on Dec. 16. Barmore is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 3.
Smith-Jurdsky told the Mansfield (Massachusetts) Police Department on Aug. 25 that Barmore physically assaulted her at their apartment in front of their 2-year-old daughter earlier that month. She told police that he became angry because the air conditioner was set to too high of a temperature, then later took her phone and threw her down to the floor, per the complaint.
Smith-Jurdsky provided a photo to police of bruises she said were a result of Barmore’s alleged assault. The accuser, who was seven weeks pregnant at the time she made the allegation, told police that Barmore threatened to “have his family members beat her up,” per the complaint.
“We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate that no criminal conduct took place,” David Meier, an attorney representing Barmore, said in a statement. “Based on the facts and the law, we expect that this personal matter will be resolved in the near future and both parties will move forward together.”
The Patriots said in a statement that they were “aware” of the allegations against Barmore and his pending arraignment.
“The Patriots were made aware at the time of the incident and informed the NFL in a timely manner,” the team said. “The matter remains part of an ongoing legal process. We will respect that process, continue to monitor the situation closely, as we have over the past few months, and cooperate fully with the league. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Barmore is not practicing on Wednesday as he deals with an illness, coach Mike Vrabel told reporters.
The accusations against Barmore came to light one day after Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from an incident earlier this month. Diggs has denied the allegations.
The NFL said in a statement that both the Barmore and Diggs matters are under review as potential violations of the league’s personal conduct policy. Both players are eligible to play at this time but could be considered for placement on the Commissioner Exempt List “following formal charges in the form of an indictment by a grand jury, the filing of charges by a prosecutor, or an arraignment in a criminal court.”
Vrabel reiterated Wednesday that the team has been aware of the allegations against Barmore and Diggs and said that any type of distractions caused by the off-the-field issues were “not disappointing at all.”
“I think that these are allegations, like you mentioned in your question,” Vrabel said. “It’s things that we have to handle. Every day that there’s distractions, some are smaller than others. I’m confident that we’ll focus on [playing] the Dolphins [Sunday] . And that those two individuals [Barmore and Diggs] will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
Vrabel said any potential team discipline wouldn’t be addressed until the legal matter played out.
“I don’t think we have to jump to any sort of conclusions right now and let the process take its toll,” he said.
Vrabel didn’t rule out either Diggs or Barmore for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Barmore, 26, is in his fifth year in the NFL and with the Patriots. A 2021 second-round draft selection, Barmore has started a career-high 15 of 16 games played this season, totaling 26 tackles and one sack.
The Patriots clinched the AFC East division title last week and finish the regular season at home against Miami. New England will either begin their postseason run next week in the Wild Card Round or the following week in the Divisional Round.
