Posted on
July 08, 2002 by
Marcus "Mookie" Anderson
Freeman, Jordan face possible charges in accident
By Tom Silverstein
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Dec. 24, 1999
Green Bay – Green Bay Packers wide receivers Antonio Freeman and Charles Jordan face possible charges of obstructing officers after an automobile accident in nearby Allouez left a woman seriously injured Wednesday night.
No charges have been filed, but a Brown County sheriff’s department news release said an investigation was in progress and charges were possible after the two men apparently switched vehicles after the accident.
It was originally thought Jordan was driving the vehicle that crashed, but after further investigation Freeman was deemed the driver.
Packers coach Ray Rhodes would not comment on the incident but did say Freeman, the team’s leading receiver, would play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He would not say if the club would take disciplinary measures against Freeman or Jordan.
Freeman’s passenger, Heather Molloy, 22, of Great Falls, Mont., was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Green Bay with a head injury suffered when she hit the windshield of the Navigator. She was upgraded from serious to fair condition Friday, according to a spokeswoman at St. Vincent’s.
Freeman was late to practice because of a meeting with team negotiator Andrew Brandt, who is also an attorney.
Rhodes wouldn’t say if the meeting was related to the accident.
After practice, a Packers’ public relations official said Freeman would make a statement and not answer any questions.
“I was involved in an automobile accident Wednesday night in which my friend was injured in the passenger seat and I regret that dearly,” Freeman said as he stood by his locker. “I did have the opportunity to spend several hours with her yesterday and her condition appears to be improving.
“Since it’s a police situation I’m not able to comment any further.”
Jordan, who joined the team Dec. 9 after being claimed off waivers, twice declined comment on the incident.
Freeman, 27, and Jordan, 30, were in separate vehicles when one of them, a 2000 Lincoln Navigator, went over a curb and struck a light pole in the driveway of Eve’s Supper Club at about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, Brown County sheriff’s Capt. Dennis Kocken said in a news release Friday.
Deputies arrested Jordan after the accident on a charge of causing injury by operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Freeman was interviewed at the scene and told officers that he was a passenger in a vehicle he owned that was following the Navigator.
An officer who was investigating reported that he did not notice the smell of alcohol on Freeman’s breath.
The next day, a witness called the sheriff’s department to inform them that she saw Freeman get out of the Navigator shortly after the crash. Officers then contacted the Packers, and Freeman and Jordan gave new testimony stating that Freeman was the driver of the Navigator and Jordan was a passenger in the trailing vehicle.
Freeman could face charges of obstructing officers and failure to report an accident. Jordan could be charged with obstruction and falsifying an accident.
Kocken told the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Thursday that Freeman was not tested for alcohol consumption because officers were unaware that he had been driving. He said his investigation did not lead him to believe that Freeman was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
“We certainly don’t believe Antonio Freeman was driving while intoxicated,” Kocken said.
Kocken said he does not know why Jordan wanted to take the blame for Freeman’s accident, but he said it was apparent that when he went to talk to the two, Freeman was troubled by it.
“It was really bothering him,” Kocken told the Press-Gazette. “You could tell he really wanted to talk.”
The National Football League could take action against both players for the incident, particularly if either is charged with a crime. A drunken driving arrest generally lands a player in the league’s substance abuse program, but since neither faces that charge, there might be no action at all.
If either one is already in the program – the league keeps that information confidential – they could face further sanctions.
Freeman is expected to start at flanker for the Packers on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Jordan, a reserve wide receiver, is expected to return punts and kickoffs.
Rhodes said the incident was a distraction to him, but he didn’t think it would affect the team as it prepared for a crucial game against the Buccaneers.
“Bottom line is when anything happens, quite naturally it’s going to be in the back of my mind, but as far as the players are concerned we had a good practice yesterday,” Rhodes said.
“The guys went out and worked extremely hard yesterday. We had a good practice.”
