New England Patriots defensive lineman Christian J. Barmore is facing a domestic assault and battery charge after his girlfriend told police he threw her to the ground at his home outside Boston in August.
A criminal complaint released Dec. 18 says Barmore, 26, briefly took the woman’s cell phone, threw it to the floor and grabbed it by her shirt inside the Mansfield, Massachusetts, home.
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Mansfield Police Sgt. John Armstrong said the woman called police on August 25 to report what had happened nearly three weeks earlier. The woman told police she had stayed at the home periodically during their several-year relationship.
Barmore’s attorney, David Meier, issued a statement Wednesday saying that “the evidence will show that no criminal conduct occurred.” Meier called it a personal matter and said he expected “it will be resolved in the near future and both parties will move forward together.”
The woman told police that she took their son early on the morning of August 8 to Barmore’s bedroom, where Barmore was upset because the thermostat was 2 degrees warmer than he preferred. She said their daughter wanted to see him.
She claimed that Barmore “picked up the child, put her on the floor just outside the master bedroom, went back into the room and closed the door,” according to police.
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As the woman packed her things to leave later in the day, Barmore took the phone from her hand and disconnected a call with the woman’s mother, according to the criminal complaint. When she went to the front door to call for help, police said, Barmore allegedly “grabbed her before she could and threw her to the ground.”
Barmore grabbed her by the shirt but “eventually she let go” and the woman got up, she told police. A car provided by the team picked up the woman and their daughter and drove them to Delaware. She provided police with a photo showing bruises she said were caused when she was thrown to the ground.
New England coach Mike Vrabel said Barmore was away from the team with an illness Wednesday but that he had not heard anything that would make him unavailable to play Sunday.
“We made a statement and took the allegations very seriously,” Vrabel said, referring to allegations against both Barmore and receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs was charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery in a dispute with his former private chef.
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“I don’t think we want to jump to any kind of conclusions right now. Let the process take its toll,” Vrabel said.
The Court was scheduled for the beginning of February. The charge is a crime.
The team’s public relations office sent a statement by email saying it was aware of the issue when it occurred and notified the league.
“The matter remains part of an ongoing legal process. We will respect that process, continue to monitor the situation closely, as we have done over the last few months, and fully cooperate with the league,” the Patriots said.
Barmore was a second-round pick in 2021 out of the University of Alabama.
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Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. AP Sports writer Kyle Hightower in Foxborough, Massachusetts, contributed to this report.