Former Lions OL Rodney Austin Found Guilty On Assault Charges
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Former Detroit Lions guard Rodney Austin has been found guilty on charges of assault on a female, assault on a child under 12, interference with emergency communication, and misdemeanor larceny, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Lions released Austin after his arrest but said at the time that the door remained opened for him to return depending on how his legal situation unfolded.
After issuing an intial response to the ruling Tuesday, Austin's agent Mark Magazu released an additional statement Thursday and addressed why Austin would not be appealing the ruling.
"For this misdemeanor, we felt it was better for Rodney to have everything dismissed from his record after he completes the program than appeal the judge's decision to a jury which likely would not go to trial for many months," Magazu said in an email to CBS Detroit. "This program will allow him to continue with his career and his life ultimately with a perfectly clean record once everything is dismissed.
"I urge everyone to keep things in context: this is a misdemeanor, and Rodney maintains his innocence but sees no benefit to continued litigation over a misdemeanor," Magazu continued. "I've known him for years and he is a good, honest young man who should not be lumped together with the NFL's most notorious."
Magazu previously stated that Austin disagrees with the judge's ruling but accepts it. In a statement posted on his firm's website and emailed to CBS Detroit, Magazu implored teams not to hold the judgment against Austin.
"I sincerely hope that the NFL gives this young man an opportunity to reclaim his employment," Magazu wrote. "Rodney is financially responsible for both his mother and his child, and it would be a devastating perversion of justice if the league allows a misdemeanor offense to destroy a young man, his dreams and his family."
Austin had spent three seasons on Detroit's practice squad before he was released following his arrest. The charges stemmed from an incident with an ex-girlfriend, who told police Austin pushed her to the floor while she was holding their infant daughter and then broke her phone to keep her from calling 911.
