Son of Broncos owner arrested on domestic violence harassment charge

The Denver Broncos have been wondering which of Pat Bowlen’s seven children will take over ownership of the team, and John Bowlen Jr. didn’t do himself any favors in that regard.

John Bowlen Jr. was arrested on a domestic violence harassment charge on Wednesday night and held without bond overnight in jail, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reported. Pat Bowlen stepped away from day-to-day operations as owner of the Broncos last year because of a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Broncos immediately placed John Bowlen Jr. on an indefinite leave of absence. Here’s the team’s statement:

“We are disappointed to learn of the matter involving John Bowlen, who is a son of Owner Pat Bowlen and an administrative employee with the organization.

“While this is a personal issue, he is accountable to all club and league conduct policies. As such, John will be placed on an indefinite leave of absence from the organization.”

It will be interesting to see how the league comes down on John Bowlen Jr., who is named after Pat Bowlen’s brother John. The league clearly is taking a hard-line stance on domestic violence, yet John Bowlen Jr. didn’t seem to have a big role with the team. In a story last September outlining the possible successor among the Bowlen family, the Denver Post wrote that John Jr. “has held a variety of jobs within the Broncos organization.”

The ownership succession plan is very important in the organization, and last September the Post reported that the NFL wanted the Pat Bowlen Trust to have a set plan within two years, which would have been by late 2016.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab