Matt LaFleur stands by Josh Jacobs after battery charge: ‘Unfortunate situation’

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property during a hearing at the Brown County Courthouse, Matt Schneidman reported for The Athletic on Thursday.

“I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs said in court, per Schneidman.

Josh Jacobs pleads no contest to two misdemeanor charges of Battery and Criminal Damage to Property pic.twitter.com/VdnKXTSkSJ

— Cameron Ezeir (@camezeir) September 10, 2026

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stood firmly behind Jacobs on Friday.

LaFleur’s press conference opened with a question about whether the ruling changed his feelings toward Jacobs.

“No,” LaFleur said. After an inaudible follow-up, LaFleur explained, “Well, because I know the guy, and I know the character of the guy. I’ve said many times. And, unfortunately, situations occur in life. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”

Based on publicly available details, LaFleur’s characterization grossly undersells the gravity of Jacob’s alleged behavior.

Jacobs, 28, was originally arrested in May after an alleged domestic violence incident. The Hobart/Lawrence Police Department booked Jacobs on five charges, per Tom Pelissero, including felony strangulation and suffocation. The four misdemeanors were battery (domestic abuse), criminal damage to property (domestic abuse),  disorderly conduct (domestic abuse), and intimidation of a victim.

Matt LaFleur on Josh Jacobs: “Unfortunately, situations occur in life, and it’s just an unfortunate situation.”

That’s the public statement from the head coach? Pretty weak.

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) September 11, 2026

At the time, Jacobs was released due to insufficient evidence.

On Aug. 27, however, Schneidman reported that the Brown County District Attorney’s office filed a criminal complaint against Jacobs and relayed disturbing details from the incident report. An investigation uncovered evidence from Jacobs’ video surveillance system corroborating the victim’s version of events.

“Jacobs’ girlfriend told officers that she had a lump on her head as a result of Jacobs’ actions,” Schneidman wrote, in part, citing the incident report. “She said she had been looking through Jacobs’ phone and saw he had been talking to other women. She said she threw the phone and that Jacobs had her phone, which she said he could look through. She told police she tried retrieving her phone from Jacobs, but he resisted, grabbed her arm, and began a physical struggle that lasted several minutes.”

On Aug. 29, LaFleur said he “fully anticipate[d]” Jacobs “being a member of our team.” Earlier this summer, LaFleur spoke glowingly of Jacobs. “Josh has been great. It’s been great to have him around, shows up every day with the same attitude, same mentality, and I would expect nothing other than that.”

Back at his presser on Friday, LaFleur declined to explain the rationale behind keeping Jacobs on the team “if he’s found guilty.”

“Guys, I’m not gonna get into any of this until the league completes their investigation,” LaFleur said.

The NFL placed Jacobs on the Commissioner’s Exempt List on Aug. 30. ProFootballTalk’s Michael David Smith relayed Thursday that the league’s review is “ongoing,” and he remains on the Exempt List.

While Jacobs is awaiting a ruling on whether he’ll be suspended, his accepted no-contest plea carries five conditions he must meet, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky:

On the criminal damage to property charge, the court accepted Josh Jacobs no contest plea on five conditions:

1. No further criminal acts
2. No contact with the victim
3. Supervision
4. Counseling
5. Pay restitution to the victim

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) September 10, 2026

Jacobs is not available to play or practice for the Packers, who open their 2026 NFL season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.