Former Broncos RB Montee Ball sentenced to jail time
It was only two years ago that Montee Ball was preparing to start at running back for the Denver Broncos. He probably went pretty high in your fantasy draft.
Ball’s fall was swift. He played his way out of the NFL, got in trouble off the field and now is going to jail.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ball pleaded guilty to two charges of disorderly conduct and one charge of battery as part of two domestic abuse incidents. He pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and was placed on 18 months probation and sentenced to 60 days in jail, the Journal Sentinel said.
In February, Ball was accused of throwing his girlfriend into a table after an argument. A month later, Ball was charged with strangulation and suffocation, substantial battery and disorderly conduct after a previous girlfriend said she was assaulted by Ball in 2014, the Journal Sentinel said.
Ball was sentenced in Madison, Wis., where he was a star for the University of Wisconsin. He finished his college career as the FBS all-time leader in touchdowns.
“I know that you’ve received trophies and scholarships for pounding people on the gridiron,” Dane County Circuit judge William E. Hanrahan said in sentencing Ball, according to the Journal Sentinel. “But you have crossed the line. You’ve earned nothing but condemnation and scorn here for your actions.
“There is a difference between hitting big guys in helmets and protective gear and throwing around frail, young women that are vulnerable and depend on you.”
Ball was a second-round pick in 2013 and was set to start for the Broncos in 2014. But injuries, including an emergency appendectomy, limited him to five games that season. He was cut at the end of the 2015 preseason and didn’t play an NFL regular-season game last season. Given his legal problems, it’s doubtful he ever resurfaces in the NFL.
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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!
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