Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - A local attorney weighs in on the civil suit filed against Buffalo Bills first round pick Max Hairston. Attorney Terry Connors says there's one aspect of the suit that interests him.
"The interesting part about the lawsuit, though, is that they cite sections of the Criminal Code in Kentucky that were allegedly violated by Mr. Hairston. All right, that's that's the allegations. But so far, no criminal case has been pursued," says attorney Terry Connors. "In New York, you don't always see allegations of violations of our penal law in a civil cause of action. Sometimes it happens, but not always. And that, to me was this was a little more comprehensive and graphic than normally is filed in a civil assault case in the state of New York."
Connors suspects there may have been an initial criminal investigation. "(That's) because one always pursues that initially, but criminal investigations take longer because the proof must necessarily be beyond a reasonable doubt," says Connors. He says in a civil case, the standard of proof is different. "It's a preponderance of evidence. So it may be that there's still one pending, it may be that there was one conducted and they didn't think there was enough evidence to pursue criminal charges. It's hard to tell from the civil complaint that was filed," explains Connors.
How much of a distraction could this be for Hairston and the Bills as training camp draws near? Connors expects the NFL to get nivolved, based on previous precedents. "They'll look at this closely and make some determination as to whether or not there is substantial evidence to support these allegations, and there could be disciplinary measures imposed upon this first round draft choice," says Connors. He adds those things all run in parallel to the civil litigation that's filed privately by a private attorney.
Hairston is accused of sexually assaulting a student in 2021.
