The National Football League was forced to contend with a multitude of unfavorable narratives all throughout the buildup to this year’s Super Bowl. But none of them appeared to be as unsavory as the incident that James Pearce Jr. was responsible for. As fans prepared for the big game that weekend, their timelines on social media were flooded with videos of the former first-round draft choice physically resisting multiple police officers.
Advertisement
The entire ordeal, which precluded Pearce from ramming his car into that of his ex-girlfriend, proved to be the result of a breakup between Pearce and the WNBA’s Rickea Jackson. He has since been slammed with a litany of felony charges ranging from two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon to singular counts of aggravated stalking and aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer.
But a new report from ESPN has now unearthed even more harrowing details. According to Michael Rothstein and Marc Raimondi, who were able to obtain the official police records pertaining to the case, “At least seven 911 calls to police indicate heightened fears from his unidentified girlfriend that she was being stalked and harassed, and that she believed Pearce had tried to break into her residence.”
Pair that with the fact that “Police officers were repeatedly dispatched to a residence in Doral described as the home of Pearce’s on-again, off-again girlfriend between November and the day of Pearce’s arrest,” and it becomes clear that this was not a one-off event, but rather an extremely concerning pattern of behavior. Rothstein and Raimondi contacted the Falcons prior to their publishing of this report, but the franchise refused to comment.
Domestic disturbance complaints, claims of living “in fear,” and a reported daytime burglary on January 28th were just some of the many reasons for Jackson’s repeated calls to authorities. It was also noted that Pearce allegedly owed Jackson $70,000 at one point in time, and it remains unclear as to whether or not that debt was ever paid.
On January 13th, Pearce was reportedly met by law enforcement outside of Jackson’s home. “Police told him to leave with his car and belongings, the report said, adding that he ‘was advised not to return to the residence,'” Rothstein and Raimondi noted.
It was then mentioned that “On Feb. 1, police again responded to a domestic disturbance call” only to return a day later after “A security guard told police Pearce had been stalking his client.” Just five days after that, the infamous episode in which Pearce rammed his Lamborghini into Jackson’s car while pursuing her would occur in the state of Florida.
According to members of Pearce’s legal counsel, the 26th overall pick from last year’s draft class “maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story.”
