The Buffalo Bills played the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, an eventful AFC matchup that got top billing on CBS this week. The A crew was in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium, and so was Taylor Swift. But amid all the hype over the game, disturbing allegations against one of the Bills’ top stars were hard to overlook.
Bills EDGE Von Miller, a former first-round pick, became the subject of domestic violence allegations brought to the surface earlier this week. Miller turned himself in following an arrest warrant issued on Thursday. An ESPN report on the matter said of the alleged incident:
The Glenn Heights, Texas, Police Department in suburban Dallas confirmed that Miller turned himself in late in the afternoon to face a charge of third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman, which is punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He was booked into the DeSoto Tri-City Jail on a $5,000 bond and released a short time later.
Despite this, Miller traveled with, suited up for, and played for the Bills on Sunday afternoon. Bills coach Sean McDermott, who’s having an… interesting week, told reporters that Miller would play this weekend and said, per The Messenger, “I understand this is not an easy situation. The hardest part for us is, I’m a football coach. I’m not an investigation. And we only have so much information at this point, so we’re doing the best job we can with what we have or don’t have, mostly in this case.”
On the call, Nantz addressed the situation head-on.
Jim Nantz details Von Miller's arrest for "allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend."
He also said that "The Bills want the legal process to play out" and that "The NFL is not expected to put Miller on the Commissioner's Exempt List unless formal charges are filed." pic.twitter.com/7SnSTQSaZC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 10, 2023
Nantz had this to say, in full:
“We talked about the McDermott story and all that the Bills were in the news for this week. Then there was the Von Miller story as well.
Von was arrested last week in Dallas during the bye week for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend. There were many people even wondering how Miller’s playing today. Why he has not been suspended by the Bills.
Well, GM Brandon Beane spoke to the team this week, saying the Bills want the legal process to play out. And our NFL insider, Jonathan Jones, reported that the NFL is not expected to put Miller on the commissioner’s exempt list unless formal charges are filed.
It’s the bare minimum, but commentators have tapdanced around alleged insidious behavior in the past. This most notably happens when it involves violence or assaults against women.
Among the more public and prominent slammings in this scenario happened on a ‘Good Morning Football’ episode in August 2022. The NFL suspended Deshaun Watson for six games, and Kyle Brandt wasn’t happy.
Nantz didn’t criticize the league, the Bills, Beane, or McDermott over the decisions leading to Miller’s presence in Kansas City. But while it might not have been a flogging, it was a notable acknowledgment. And it did catch the industry’s attention.
Jim Nantz just mentioned the domestic violence charges against Von Miller, as well as the Bills' rationale for why he's playing (letting the legal process play out). More than other announcers would've said in the past tbh.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 10, 2023
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, please call 1-800-799-7233. Help is available for you.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022