Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey spoke with reporters Wednesday to address the release of Ray McDonald this week after the defensive end was arrested for domestic abuse and child endangerment. McCaskey earned scrutiny for giving his OK on the signing earlier this offseason, despite the fact that McDonald had been released by the San Francisco 49ers last season after being named a suspect in a sexual assault investigation.
Bears chairman asks ‘what more could I have done’ about Ray McDonald
Bears chairman George McCaskey questioned his decision-making when signing Ray McDonald, but defended the team’s approach towards free agent with character concerns.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
During the press conference, McCaskey questioned his own decision-making when asked by reporters why he gave general manager Ryan Pace the authority to sign McDonald in March.
“I’ve asked myself that question a lot. What more could I have done? Is there somebody else that we could have consulted with? Should I have taken more time to make a decision? I don’t know. We thought we had a good structure, a good support system and we thought we had the safeguards in place in case something like this happened.”
Just after the Bears signed McDonald, McCaskey told reporters that he was initially against the deal. He changed his mind after speaking with McDonald, saying that he was impressed by McDonald’s sincerity and “how motivated he is.” Now, McCaskey said, his overriding emotion is “sadness.”
“Sadness for the child, for the child’s mother and for the entire situation. Domestic violence is a vexing social problem. The NFL has had some high-profile cases, including this one. And the NFL, because it’s a leader in society, is called upon to take action. Which we are doing. We’re not going to do it by ourselves. But I think we have an opportunity to make an impact.”
McCaskey did not suggest any changes that might disincentivize teams from signing players who have been arrested multiple times. He said that he had not heard any proposals from the NFL's conduct committee about punishing teams that pursue serial abusers. He supported the Bears' current approach to free agents with potential character concerns by saying that the process "worked."
“As I’ve said, we had safeguards in place. Ryan came to me for permission (to sign McDonald). So we have the reinforcement of that process to be able to make a better decision (in the future).”
McCaskey also supported the Bears’ decision not to question alleged victims in McDonald’s 2014 incidents, saying that he did not want to interfere with ongoing investigations, and that he would have been worried about potential bias.
“An alleged victim wants to make sure that the charges are filed while the alleged perpetrator is doing everything he can to make sure charges aren’t filed. So that was part of it.”
McDonald was arrested Monday morning after he allegedly “physically assaulted the victim while she was holding a baby,” according a statement released by the Santa Clara Police Department. He was released by the 49ers in December after being named a suspect in a sexual assault investigation, and was also arrested for drunken driving in 2010.
McDonald played eight seasons in San Francisco, recording 154 tackles and 19.5 sacks in that span.
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