On December 29, following a report of a domestic dispute, New Jersey police were sent to the home of New York Jets linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, who was subsequently arrested on three different criminal charges.
Per Deadspin, the charges are as follows:
- Third-degree criminal mischief for clothing that had been destroyed. Spokesman Mark Spivey said the clothes belonged to a woman who Cunningham had dated and used to live there.
- Fourth-degree unlawful weapon transport for a loaded .380-caliber handgun found in the glove compartment of his Audi. The search was consensual, and the question of who owns the gun is under investigation, Spivey said.
- Third-degree invasion of privacy for disseminating images "sexual in nature to another person without the consent of the person in the images," said Spivey, who added that officers learned about the images at the scene from the woman whom Cunningham had dated.
Cunningham is a former Florida linebacker who was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. After playing for the Patriots for three seasons, and the San Francisco 49ers for one month in 2013, Cunningham signed with the Jets late last season.
As Deadspin also points out, Cunningham was on the IR list for the entirety of the 2014 NFL season and will be an unrestricted free agent in just a few months. Given the franchise's current turmoil, it's difficult to say whether New York will be interested in bringing Cunningham back for the 2015-16 NFL season. This incident certainly won't help his chances.
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