New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore faces charges 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 August 8, according to a criminal complaint released on December 16. Barmore is scheduled to be arraigned on February 3.
Smith-Jurdsky told Mansfield (Massachusetts) police on August 25 that Barmore physically assaulted her at their apartment in front of their two-year-old daughter earlier this month. She told police he got angry because the air conditioner was set too high, then took her phone and threw it to the floor, according to the complaint.
Smith-Jurdsky provided police with a photo of bruises she said were the result of Barmore’s alleged assault. The accuser, who was seven weeks pregnant when she made the allegation, told police Barmore threatened to “have members of his family beat her,” according to 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 anticipate 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 are “aware” of the allegations against Barmore and the questioning of him.
“The Patriots were notified when the incident occurred and notified the NFL in a timely manner,” the team said. “The matter remains part of the ongoing legal process. We will respect that process, continue to monitor the situation closely as we have for the past several months, and cooperate fully with the department. We will not comment further at this time.”
Barmore is not practicing Wednesday because he is dealing with an illness, coach Mike Vrabel told reporters.
The charges against Barmore came one day after Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs was charged with aggravated strangulation or strangulation and 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 cases are being reviewed as potential violations of the league’s personal conduct policy. Both players are eligible to play at this time but could be considered for the agent’s waiver list “following formal charges in the form of a grand jury indictment, filing of an indictment by a prosecutor or indictment in a criminal court.”
Vrabel reiterated Wednesday that the team was aware of the allegations against Barmore and Diggs and said any disruption caused by off-field issues was “not disappointing at all.”
“I think these are allegations, as you mentioned in your question,” Vrabel said. “There are things that we have to deal with. Every day there are disruptions, some are smaller than others. I am confident that we will focus on [playing] the dolphins [Sunday] . And that these two individuals [Barmore and Diggs] will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
Vrabel said the potential team discipline won’t be addressed until the legal case is over.
“I don’t think we need to jump to any conclusions now and let the process take its toll,” he said.
Vrabel did not rule out Diggs or Barmore for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Barmore, 26, is in his fifth year in the NFL with the Patriots. Barmore, a second-round draft pick in 2021, has started 15 of a career-high 16 games this season, totaling 26 tackles and one sack.
The Patriots clinched the AFC East title last week and finished the regular season at home against Miami. New England will either begin the postseason next week in the Wild Card round or the following week in the divisional playoffs.