MMQB - A New Staple of the Draft

Plankton

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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/04/27/nfl-draft-gareon-conley-rape-allegations-cleveland-police

PHILADELPHIA — Twenty-one future NFL players lined up on the sixth floor of the Shriners Hospital for Children on Wednesday morning, ready to toss Nerf balls and play games with kids who are being treated for serious medical conditions. Along with the many interviews players will give and the many parties they’ll attend over the next few days, community events such as this one have long been a staple of the NFL draft.

In recent years, however, serious storylines have overshadowed the league’s extravaganza that turns college football’s best players into millionaires. This year is no different. Former Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley, who’d been invited to join his peers at the hospital, was conspicuously absent on Wednesday. Thought by many to be a first-round talent, Conley left the City of Brotherly Love the day before under a cloud of suspicion after being named in a rape investigation in Cleveland.

When the news about Conley broke, his college teammate Marshon Lattimore rushed to his defense on Twitter, questioning the alleged victim’s account of the night and motive. Lattimore, another cornerback expected to be a top draft pick, later deleted those tweets and was told by his agent to choose his words carefully in media interviews during the hospital visit.

“You know you can’t put yourself in a situation like that,” Lattimore said. “You never know what are peoples’ motives, what they are trying to get from you. It’s just best to stay with your family throughout this process and just stay out the way. Everybody learns something from this. I hope the truth comes out, to where he is innocent . . . but we are going to see.”
 
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