© Brace Hemmelgarn | 2017 Aug 27
The State Attorney’s Office in Florida has dropped a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Redskins linebacker Reuben Foster, according to Hillsborough County court records, as first reported by ESPN. Foster had been scheduled for arraignment on Thursday. What led to the charges being dropped is unclear at this time.
The charges were related to Foster’s arrest at the 49ers’ team hotel in Tampa on Nov. 24, just hours before a game between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Foster was accused by his ex-girlfriend Elissa Ennis of “slapping her phone out of her hand, pushing her in the chest area, and slapping her with an open hand on the left side of her face,” after an initial verbal altercation.
The accusations came months after Foster faced charges from the Santa Clara County District Attorney for a separate domestic violence incident also involving Ennis. Ennis eventually recanted the allegations when she took the stand, saying she made up the story to get back at Foster for breaking up with her. Ennis now claims those initial allegations were true, and that she claimed she lied in order to protect Foster’s career.
Despite the charges being dropped, Foster remains on the commissioner’s exempt list, and is not able to play or practice with the Washington Redskins who claimed him on waivers shortly after his release from the 49ers.