Gareon Conley is by far the most embattled NFL prospect heading into Thursday’s draft.
Accused of rape earlier this month, NFL teams have scrambled to uncover information about the incident and figure out how to handle the situation.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, most of the league has made a personal call to the former Ohio State cornerback:
At least 24 teams personally have called OSU's Gareon Conley over the past 48 hours, per source. He has proclaimed his innocence to all.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2017
Now take a look at a note by CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora:
Perhaps I am in the minority, but more phone calls I make and more teams I talk to, more convinced I am Gareon Conley gets selected tonight
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2017
In an extensive ESPN report, Conley denies the allegations and says video evidence discredits them.
Among many quotes, this is the one making the rounds the most:
“I pride myself on doing things the right way on and off the field,” Conley said. “The things being said about me and what happened that night are not true and don’t fit my character at all. I realize that I put myself in the situation and I could have used better judgment. However, I have worked tirelessly to put myself in position to have the honor of being an NFL draft pick and these untrue allegations are putting a huge cloud over my name and the NFL Draft.”
On the field, Conley is arguably the top corner in the class after quietly being overshadowed by others at Ohio State. He’s projected as a lockdown corner at the next level.
Away from the field, teams have a matter of hours to figure out how to handle the situation.
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