Jadeveon Clowney was arrested in his hometown of Rock Hill, S.C., just days before he signed a free-agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
Clowney’s arrest occurred Sept. 12, according to multiple reports. He was arrested for trespassing and failure to identify himself after he attempted to park at an apartment complex parking lot that was not public.
Clowney told the officer his aunt lived at the apartment complex and that he was going to visit her, per Queen City News. He also said he might attend a local high school football game between his alma mater, South Pointe, and their cross-town rival Northwestern.
A police report of the incident obtained by ESPN specified Clowney, who was driving a black Cadillac Escalade, never tried to drive away but continued ‘to argue, talk over reporting officer, and display a defiant attitude.’
USA TODAY Sports requested a copy of the police report from the Rock Hill Police Department but has not yet received a response.
Clowney addressed his arrest shortly after news of it broke. He referred to it as a ‘big misunderstanding’ and vowed to dispute it.
‘It was a parking situation and just escalated,’ Clowney said, per ESPN. ‘If you know anything about South Carolina, where I’m from, you know how that can go left very fast and that kind of went left.’
It isn’t yet clear whether Clowney will make his Cowboys debut Sunday against the Chicago Bears, as Dallas’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said in a Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan that the team was leaning toward not playing the 32-year-old veteran just a week after signing him.
That said, Clowney’s arrest isn’t expected to have any impact on his availability. And the No. 1 overall pick from the 2014 NFL Draft said he is ‘physically ready to go’ as he prepares to suit up for his seventh different NFL team.