Rashad Weaver went from being an All-American edge rusher for Pitt, to being drafted into the NFL, to being the accused of assault all in a span of a few days.
After Weaver was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Titans on Saturday, Pittsburgh Police charged Weaver with a single count of simple assault from an incident that occurred on April 18 at approximately 2:28 a.m. on the South Side of Pittsburgh.
The police report details officers finding a woman lying on the ground on 17th Street between Carson and Bingham. Conflicting reports from witnesses ranged from accusations that Weaver punched the woman, to her falling on her own without any punch from Weaver. The original criminal complaint reported that the woman did not have any injury consistent with being punched in the head.
The incident stemmed from an argument at a bar in the South Side where Weaver accused the woman of throwing her drink on him, while she said she simply spilled it.
Weaver's attorney, Dennis M. Blackwell, released a statement Monday that Weaver would fight the charges:
"The allegations against my client, Rashad Weaver, are completely false and reckless," Blackwell said in a statement. "Mr. Weaver takes these charges very seriously and we look forward to clearing his good name. Without question and without hesitation, we deny Rashad punched anyone, especially a woman. We intend to conduct a full investigation of these charges, and intend to pursue all legal remedies available to Rashad."
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 5 at Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Weaver's 2020 season boosted his profile to being a consensus All-American with 7.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in just nine games for Pitt football. He was 1 of 6 Panthers selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, joining Bud Dupree and Ola Adeniyi as new edge rushers for the Titans who worked at the UPMC Rooney Complex, where both Pitt's football program and the Steelers practice.
"We were made aware of this news this morning," the Titans said in a statement Monday. "We obviously take this seriously and are in the process of gathering details and working with the league."