Global Courant
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski expressed relief that two of his defensive players were not physically injured as they were robbed at gunpoint by six masked men outside a downtown nightclub.
According to Cleveland police, the players had jewelry and a truck taken away during the early morning robbery.
Police redacted the names of the players in a field report. However, a person familiar with the situation identified the players as cornerback Greg Newsome II and tackled Perrion Winfrey. The individual spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The Browns opened mandatory mini-camping on Tuesday. After practice, Stefanski said he spoke with Chief Wayne Drummond.
“I’m glad our guys are okay,” he said. “I want our entire community to be safe. The Cleveland Police Department has been outstanding. We want everyone to be safe and we want to get violent people off our streets.”
Stefanski did not reveal the names of the players.
According to the report, one of the players was returning to his truck in a parking lot at 3:30 a.m. Monday when the masked suspects jumped out of a car and robbed him of jewelry before fleeing in his vehicle. The player told police he was not injured.
Newsome, a starting cornerback drafted by the Browns in the first round in 2021 from Northwestern, posted on Twitter Monday night, “It’s a cruel world we live in”.
All-Pro defense end Myles Garrett said he spoke to both Newsome and Winfrey to offer his support.
“I’m just glad to see they’re okay,” he said. “Just making sure they’re in the right headspace, they feel like they’re surrounded by family and let them know that whatever they need, we’re the perfect resource for them and that we’ll support them through whatever happens.
“We are just going to try to make sure none of our guys ever get into that situation again and however we can help, we are going to do that. But I’m just happy to see them safe and sound with us and still walking around. Still blessed to this day no matter what, still able to wake up in the morning and just glad we still have them here.
Newsome was on the field when the Browns opened their three-day mini-camp while there was no sign of Winfrey, a former Oklahoma defensive tackle who was arrested in April on Texas felony charges.
In another incident on Sunday, Browns’ car walking back to Demetric Felton was stolen from a downtown parking garage.
Garrett has been outspoken about his fondness for Cleveland, saying the incidents haven’t changed his feelings about the city.
“It shows me, my team, all of us here at the Browns have more work to do in the community,” he said. “There is more we can do here. There are more lessons we need to teach each other, because it’s not just one side or the other. Things like this happen because of so many different actions that led up to it.
___
AP NFL: and
(TagsToTranslate)Sports
