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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Sean McDermott had no desire Wednesday to discuss Von Miller’s felony domestic violence arrest.
Long silences hung in the air between questions about the Buffalo Bills’ decision not to cut Miller, withhold him from practices or place any limitations on the linebacker’s availability to play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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McDermott’s answers were terse. He seemed more willing to gab about 13 Seconds or Leslie Frazier’s abrupt departure or U.S. tax code reform.
Little did McDermott know that about 24 hours later he would be explaining to reporters why he once implored his players to emulate the 9/11 hijackers.
He made such a clumsy, inappropriate metaphor in trying to convey the importance of communication at 2019 training camp that he quickly apologized for it at the time, and two Bills sources — requesting anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the record — told The Athletic the incident was considered “old news” within the organization. McDermott called an impromptu news conference Thursday afternoon to address the blunder.
“My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page on the team,” McDermott said, referring to the anecdote reported Thursday by Tyler Dunne at his Go Long website. “I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day and I immediately apologized to the team that day. Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.”
McDermott said he would meet with his team later Thursday to revisit his misguided speech of 3 1/2 years ago and apologize to those who weren’t around back then yet might’ve been offended upon learning about it. He addressed the media again on Friday, calling the report a hurtful attack on his character.
There’s never a convenient occasion for distasteful gaffes to arise, but the timing could have been better for the Bills.
The embarrassment, likely ancient history within the walls at One Bills Drive, resurfaced one day after McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane were raked for their handling of Miller amid allegations he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend, and three days before a critical game in Kansas City.
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The Bills are 6-6 and clawing for a playoff berth. They are four slots out of the playoff picture with five games left. Their 3-5 AFC record puts them in dire tie-breaker straits.
“It’s crazy because adversity kind of shows you that it’s nothing that we can’t handle,” Bills receiver Stefon Diggs said Thursday. “We’ve been through a lot. Our record says one thing. Who we are as a team is another.
“But we’re in a great spot. I don’t think there’s too many teams or people in the league that won’t say we’re a good team. We’ve had some bad breaks, some things not go our way. But we do have a lot of talent on this team. We do got a lot of guys that want to win. We got some dogs on this team as well. I feel like it’ll all come together how it’s supposed to.”
As thrilling as December football can be, Bills fans this week have struggled to enjoy the ride. They’ve been forced to consider rooting for a coach who, to a non-zero degree, expressed admiration for terrorist management and an outside linebacker who has been accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.
Dallas police investigated and gathered enough probable-cause evidence to arrest Miller for third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman. If charged by the district attorney, Miller could face two to 10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.
The affidavit for Miller’s arrest warrant alleges he twice put his hands around the accuser’s throat, pulled out a chunk of her hair, stepped on her feet, threw her down, took away one of her cell phones and stomped on her laptop.
Miller’s accuser, his girlfriend of seven years, called 911. She was treated by EMS at the scene and taken to Dallas Police headquarters for an interview. The affidavit stated detectives from the domestic violence unit observed bruises on her neck, abdomen and left biceps plus minor abrasions. The affidavit also noted she shared from her phone a partial video of the incident.
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Then she told multiple Dallas media outlets that the whole thing had been blown out of proportion.
The Bills seem to be banking on that reversal, along with whatever reassurances they may have gotten from Miller and his representatives, but that won’t necessarily stop the district attorney’s office from filing charges because of the troubling evidence police forwarded.
A game such as Sunday’s is why Buffalo signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract with $51.4 million in guarantees.
The eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl MVP was brought here to chase quarterbacks, specifically Patrick Mahomes, whom the Bills haven’t been able to conquer when it matters most. After being eliminated by Kansas City two postseasons in a row, Buffalo identified Miller specifically as a Lombardi Trophy difference-maker.
Beane on Wednesday announced the Bills are keeping Miller on the active roster and letting the legal process unfold. The NFL would do Buffalo a public-relations favor by suspending Miller or putting him on the commissioner’s exempt list, but those steps usually aren’t taken unless criminal charges are filed.
The Bills also could tell Miller to stay away from the facility or deactivate him Sunday, but there’s been no indication they plan to do that.
Miller hasn’t spoken about the allegations or his arrest. After reporters were allowed into the fieldhouse following Wednesday’s practice, Bills vice president of communications Derek Boyko escorted him through a tunnel away from the locker room. Miller wasn’t spotted again during media access time.
Approached by reporters Thursday in the locker room, Miller declined to comment.
While some teammates wanted to avoid the subject — “None of my business,” safety and fellow co-captain Micah Hyde said — many were publicly supportive of Miller.
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“We still love that guy,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “No one really knows exactly what happened. I don’t know any of the details, but in my eyes, he hasn’t changed or anything.”
“We don’t know all the details,” Bills co-captain Josh Allen said. “It being a legal dispute, there’s not much say that we have in it.
“All we can do is support our teammate and be there for him as much as we can.”
Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller (40) is available to play on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs following last week’s felony domestic violence arrest. (Eric Hartline / USA Today)A year and a half ago, Beane and McDermott sat side by side in the Bills’ fieldhouse and explained — with gravitas and emotion — why they had to cut rookie punter Matt Araiza, accused in a civil suit of gang raping a 17-year-old girl while he was a San Diego State student. Although the lawsuit remains active, the district attorney has declined to charge anyone criminally. Araiza admitted to having sex with the girl, but evidence surfaced that seems to contradict her account of his involvement in the alleged gang rape.
“It’s every situation as its own,” Beane said of the difference between keeping Miller after an arrest but cutting Araiza after a civil accusation, “and that’s probably as far as I could go into it. Everything has its own set of facts, circumstances, experiences.”
This isn’t the first accusation against Miller.
In 2021, he was the subject of a criminal investigation in Parker, Colo., while playing for the Denver Broncos. Although details of the case never were made public, multiple reports stated the accuser was the same woman who made last week’s allegations and then recanted. Denver television station KMGH reported the 2021 investigation involved claims of domestic abuse. The Washington Post reported Miller had sent the woman abusive and threatening text messages that said he was praying for her to have a miscarriage and saying “You gon get yours! Believe that.” Police called the allegations “extensive,” but the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s office didn’t press charges.
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In April 2022, shortly after joining the Bills, an unnamed woman sued him for revenge porn. She alleged Miller shared with “two well-known celebrities” sexually explicit photos of her. Her lawsuit was dismissed.
Miller might play Sunday because he’s getting paid a lot of money and he can help the team win a Super Bowl — albeit theoretically so far.
He hasn’t made an impact since returning from knee surgery two months ago. In 163 defensive snaps over eight games, Miller has one solo tackle, one assisted tackle, zero tackles for losses, zero sacks, one quarterback hit and zero forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus data shows Miller has been effective on just 7.8 percent of his pressures, 10th among Bills defensive linemen or edge rushers this year and barely better than often-scratched interior lineman Poona Ford.
Miller was Buffalo’s best pass rusher last season until he tore his right ACL on Thanksgiving. Through 10 games, he recorded a 15.8 PFF pressure percentage, eight sacks, 11 QB hits, a forced fumble and two deflections.
Many Bills fans are — understandably — done with Miller. They’ve been increasingly disappointed in his lackluster performance. Then came these allegations and his subsequent arrest.
Miller’s teammates, however, have been rallying around him.
Not coincidentally, the Bills’ locker room has featured consistent messaging this season. On video boards hung throughout the room is the photo of a gladiator above a version of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “Man in the Arena” quote:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
That attitude was reflected Wednesday regarding Miller’s status on the team.
“Anything can become a distraction, but we always talk about ignoring the noise, ignoring things that people might be saying about us,” Knox said. “Everyone we got in this building is all we need. We’re like a family. If a guy is struggling, we pick him up. We’re keeping the same standard everyday, not letting things get in between us or the noise get to us.”
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That was the attitude Thursday, too.
“There’s times,” Bills receiver and co-captain Gabriel Davis said, “when we feel like people are counting us out, we play our best. Obviously, we’re in that moment right now.”
Sunday can’t get here soon enough for the Bills and their frustrated fans.
(Top photo of Sean McDermott: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
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