Reports: Aqib Talib won't face NFL punishment for 2016 shooting incident
Good news for Aqib Talib and the Denver Broncos: USA Today’s Tom Pelissero and others reported on Tuesday that the NFL will not punish the cornerback for a shooting incident last year.
In the incident in Dallas last June, Talib was shot once in the right leg. Initially, the 31-year-old said he was shot by an unknown individual, but in a meeting with investigators a few months later, Talib’s attorney provided a letter in which Talib admitted to shooting himself.
He was not charged.
Via Pelissero, while the NFL decided after its investigation that Talib’s behavior was an instance of conduct detrimental to the league, the decision was made to issue only a disciplinary warning to the player.
The NFL will require Talib to complete an approved firearm safety course, and he must also provide a list of firearms he owns to NFL security.
Albert Breer of The MMQB noted that the fact Talib was in lawful possession of the gun played a role in the NFL’s decision not to suspend the four-time Pro Bowler.
Talib has frequently found himself in the headlines for on- and off-field incidents during his nine-year career. Previous to the shooting last year, he was suspended one game in 2015 for poking then Indianapolis Colt Dwayne Allen in the eye, and in 2012 he was suspended four games for violation of the policy on performance-enhancing substances (Talib said he took Adderall). In 2010, he was suspended for one game and fined an additional game check for his alleged assault of a cab driver. In 2011, Talib was accused of firing shots at and trying to pistol-whip his sister’s boyfriend; though he faced a felony assault with a deadly weapon charge, the charges were ultimately dropped.
