ATLANTA (AP) - Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy finalized eviction proceedings against his ex-girlfriend after reaching an agreement in Georgia on Tuesday.
In the meantime, McCoy took his familiar spot with the starting lineup at training camp, where Bills general manager Brandon Beane said no evidence has come to light to alter the player’s status with the team amid allegations he severely disciplined his son and beat his dog.
“Nothing’s changed, and we see LeSean here for the future,” Beane told The Associated Press in the first public comments made by a team official since McCoy’s ex-girlfriend raised the allegations in a lawsuit filed in Fulton County, Georgia, on Friday.
“You take all allegations seriously, but until the police say there’s something there, we’re not going to act on anything without them saying there’s legit evidence,” Beane said. “It’s an open investigation. Nothing has come forward that said any of these things are true. So until that would happen, I don’t think anything will ever change.”
Beane reiterated comments he made at the start of training camp last month by saying he foresees McCoy being in the Bills lineup to start the regular season.
Delicia Cordon is suing McCoy for failing to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen during a home invasion last month. She also alleged McCoy would “often brutally beat his dog,” and would also “aggressively, physically discipline and beat his young son.”
McCoy has previously denied the allegations, calling them “totally baseless” and “completely false.”
Cordon is no longer living the home after eviction proceedings were finalized two months after McCoy began them. Attorneys for McCoy met with Cordon, her attorney and a mediator Tuesday and then presented an agreement to the Fulton County magistrate judge overseeing the case.
The handwritten agreement signed by the parties and attached to the order closing the case says a sheriff’s deputy will accompany Cordon to the home on Monday to retrieve personal items, including photos, a gold chain with a cross belonging to her son, a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. Lawyers for both sides will be present.
Cordon was left bloodied after she said an intruder hit her with a gun during the home invasion at McCoy’s house in Milton, Georgia, where she and her teenage son lived. Police are still investigating and have not identified a suspect. McCoy was out of state at the time.
On Tuesday, Cordon’s lawyer Tanya Mitchell Graham told reporters finding the person who attacked her client is what is most important at the moment.
Cordon’s lawsuit names McCoy and Tamarcus Porter, who’s described as McCoy’s friend and personal assistant.
Without accusing McCoy of playing a role in the home invasion, Cordon accused him of breaching his duty to protect her because he owned the home. She also alleged McCoy “permitted a hazardous condition to exist” by having Porter install a new security system and cameras and denying her access to arm the system.
A second lawsuit was filed Friday against McCoy and Porter by Elizabeth Donald, who is identified in the lawsuit as a childhood friend of Cordon. The suit says the two women are so close they call each other cousins. Graham had said in a news release right after the home invasion that Cordon’s cousin was also injured.
Donald was staying at the home in Milton to care for Cordon’s son while Cordon was traveling in June. Donald was at the home when Porter and another friend of McCoy’s arrived on June 5 unannounced and installed a new security system and cameras at McCoy’s request, her suit says.
The following day, Porter and McCoy called police asking for help removing Donald, Cordon’s son and another of Cordon’s friends from the home, the lawsuit says. Police said they couldn’t remove the teen because he lived there and that the other two had Cordon’s permission to be there. Porter filed eviction paperwork that day.
Donald was at the home when the home invasion happened July 10, and the intruder hit her with a gun, the lawsuit says.
The 30-year-old McCoy is entering his 10th NFL season and fourth with the Bills after being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. McCoy led the NFL in yards rushing in 2013, and helped the Bills lead the NFL in yards rushing in two of the past three seasons.
Beane said the allegations made against McCoy have not been a distraction.
“Anything can become a distraction if you let it, but to this point, LeSean has done a great job, his teammates have done a great job,” he said.
“Other than when this little thing came up yesterday, nobody’s talked about it,” Beane added. “The focus here has been on football. And I expect that to continue as long as it’s an open investigation.”
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Wawrow reported from Pittsford, New York.
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