Colts knew Okereke had been accused of sexual assault before drafting him
Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard revealed Wednesday that the team was aware of a 2015 sexual assault allegation against Bobby Okereke before it selected the Stanford linebacker in the third round of this year's draft.
"When we looked at it and talked about it - and talking to the young man, an incident from four years ago, no discipline by the university (and) he was never charged with a crime," Ballard said Wednesday, according to ESPN's Mike Wells.
"And then you look at his track record from that point to now. Team captain. Lott Trophy quarterfinalist. He graduated with a degree in management and engineering. He's working on his master's. From 2015 to 2019, from everything we gathered and high recommendations that we got, it felt appropriate to take him."
Ballard said Okereke disclosed the 2015 incident when Indianapolis met him in January at the Senior Bowl and asked about any potential off-field issues.
The linebacker told the Colts he was the unnamed Stanford football player in a December 2016 story by The New York Times. A woman told Stanford's disciplinary board that Okereke had raped her. Three members of a five-person panel agreed that the player had committed sexual assault, but Stanford required a 4-1 vote to find him responsible. The case went to a second hearing after the woman presented evidence of errors in the first hearing and resulted in an identical vote. He wasn't disciplined by the school or team.
Ballard said the Colts felt comfortable selecting Okereke after investigating the situation and reviewing the documents from the ensuing Title IX case. The Colts didn't speak to the woman or her lawyer because of Stanford's decision not to discipline him and the lack of criminal charges.
"(These things are) very difficult," Ballard said. "Not only from our perspective from trying to get the information, but from the university perspective. You have a he-said, she-said incident. I don't want to sit here and act like we don't have sensitivity for both sides of it. But as I've kind of said, it happened four years ago and because there were no charges or disciplinary actions by the university and then his track record from everything we know to this point has been good."
Ballard has said he's focused on creating a high-character locker room in Indianapolis. Okereke is set to compete with Anthony Walker for the right to start alongside All-Pro Darius Leonard.