A San Francisco 49ers player was arrested Saturday night in Tampa and charged with domestic violence. Reuben Foster reportedly was taken into custody after an altercation with his former girlfriend.
Foster, 24, was arrested on one count of first-degree misdemeanor domestic-violence battery at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay after the incident with former girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, 28, as Foster slapped her phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area, and slapped her with an open hand on the right side of her face.
Last year, Ennis accused Foster after a similar incident, but eventually recanted her statement and the domestic violence charges were dropped. Foster served a two game suspension over those charges.
Police noted a one inch scratch on the victim’s left collar bone.
Foster was charged with one count of first degree misdemeanor domestic violence and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail. Foster was given a $2,000 bond and no contact order with his ex-girlfriend.
Foster and the victim lived together in the past and they were involved in an on-again-off-again relationship over the past three years.
The 49ers are playing the Buccaneers Sunday at 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa
The team announced Sunday morning that it would be releasing Foster.
“I can tell you that it was a situation where we laid out some very specific ground rules for Reuben, as we do for all our players,” former Buc and 49ers general manager John Lynch said in a transcript provided by the Sacramento Bee. “We had a set of standards in place that the players were involved with in developing. In this case, it was communicated exceptionally clear and to the point, as to what we expected out of him.”
The statement continued: “Unfortunately in life, there’s consequences for your actions and when you show bad judgment, particularly after something’s been communicated very clearly, what the expectations are, there are consequences…I think one lesson I’ve learned being around this league for 30 years now in different capacities, is that nobody is bigger than the team. That’s ultimately what this decision came down to for us.”
The 49ers’ 1st-round draft pick last year out of Alabama.
