The Florida State Attorney's Office has declined to move forward on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against embattled Washington linebacker Reuben Foster, according to court records obtained by multiple outlets.
The now-dropped charges by the Hillsborough County court in Tampa originate from a Nov. 24 incident with Foster's ex, Elissa Ennis. Police say Foster slapped Ennis' phone out of her hand, "pushed her in the chest area, and slapped her with an open hand on the left side of her face." Investigating police saw a 1-inch scratch on Ennnis' left collarbone.
Elissa later told ABC early in December that the San Francisco 49ers initially tried to cover up the incident before finally waiving their troubled linebacker. He was picked up three days later by Washington, the only team to put in a bid for him off waivers.
While Foster's attorney, Eddie Suarez, wouldn't talk with ESPN, he did talk with TMZ Sports, and told them he thinks the case was dropped because there were issues with Ennis' credibility. Suarez mentioned that a previous claim Ennis had made in February of last year, which she then retracted in May, played a role in this case's dismissal. But Ennis explained in her interview with Good Morning America, she'd only made up the story to protect Foster from punishment. He had really pushed her down the stairs and hit her like she'd initially claimed.
Foster's February arrest for domestic violence also included the possession of an assault rife found on the bathroom floor of his home. While dodging the domestic violence charges because Ennis claimed she made the whole thing up, Foster pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor weapons charge and was given two years of probation and banned from possessing guns during this time.
An NFL spokesperson tells TMZ Sports they're "monitoring all developments in the matter which continues to be under review by the league." Foster was suspended for two games to start the 2018 NFL season, stemming from an arrest for misdemeanor marijuana possession last January, but the charges were dropped after he completed a first-time-offender diversion course.
