Anthony Chickillo was arrested this weekend at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort after a domestic situation involving his girlfriend, world-class Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman.
Monday, Steelers officials instructed Chickillo not to report to the Rooney Complex for the team's scheduled practice. Tuesday, Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert offered a statement on the situation:
"In regard to the recent incident involving Anthony Chickillo, we will continue to gather information, and we will fully cooperate with the NFL’s investigation," Colbert said. "Any discipline involving the player will be determined after the gathering of further information from law enforcement and the League Office."
This statement goes hand-in-hand with the Steelers' initial response from Director of Communications Burt Lauten:
Statement from @Steelers Burt Lauten:
We are aware of an incident involving Anthony Chickillo last night and are still gathering information. Until we have further details we will not provide any further comments.#Steelers
— The Final Word (@WPXIFinalWord) October 21, 2019
Monday after practice, Steelers players were similarly mum on the situation, deferring to Mike Tomlin, who will address media at the Rooney Complex on Tuesday at noon ET.
“I didn’t get to really process it,” Cam Heyward said. “I’m just letting everything unfold and looking at it from an outside perspective … I don’t need to say anything extra.”
“No comment on it,” Terrell Edmunds added. “Coach Tomlin can speak more about it. But just prayers for him.”
“No, I’m going to let coach [Mike Tomlin] handle that,” Mason Rudolph said when asked for comment. “I know Anthony’s a great friend of mine, great dude. So we’re going to respect — obviously I want him back because he’s a great friend. But I’m going to let coach handle that logistically.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told media the league "will look into" the arrest. While nothing has been determined yet, one possibility is that Chickillo would be placed on the commissioner's exempt list for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Per the policy, "actual or threatened physical violence against another person, including dating violence, domestic violence, child abuse, and other forms of family violence" are prohibited.
Chickillo was released on $10,000 bail and has a preliminary hearing for charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment on Oct. 30. Newman was also cited for harassment after the incident.
