Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleads no contest to misdemeanor battery, faces deferred judgment on property damage charge

Josh Jacobs, the Green Bay Packers running back, appeared in Brown County Court on Thursday and entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge. He was found guilty of battery and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus costs. For the separate misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property, Jacobs reached a deferred-judgment agreement that requires compliance with several conditions for the charge to be dismissed.

The incidents leading to the charges stem from an arrest on May 26 following an event on May 23. Jacobs, 28, will be subject to a 12-month period of supervision, counseling, restitution to the victim, no further criminal acts, and no contact with the victim. If he fulfills these requirements, the state will move to dismiss the property-damage charge.

The NFL placed Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list on Aug. 30, making him ineligible to participate in team activities, and has not indicated when or if the list status will change. > "We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy," the league said, adding that his status remains unchanged.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and the organization have continued to support Jacobs while the legal process proceeds. In court, Jacobs said, "I fully understand the seriousness of the situation and I take full responsibility."

District Attorney David Lasee explained that the case does not meet Wisconsin’s statutory definition of domestic violence because the parties were not in a domestic relationship, so the charge was not filed as domestic violence.