Alvin Kamara's long-running legal saga has finally cleared the court system, and it's something of a victory.
With his felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor in a plea deal with restitution and community service as the only penalty, he'd have been hard-pressed to have expected a better deal.
“It’s amazing what money does in the criminal justice process," said New Orleans defense attorney Craig Mordock on WWL this week. "Short of Alvin … having the resources to kind of make this go away and a very skilled [defense attorneys], he was able to reach a resolution that I think is favorable for everyone involved.”
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That money includes roughly $100,000 designated to cover the medical expenses of Darnell Greene, who was shown on video being assaulted by Kamara and the group he was with prior to the Pro Bowl in 2021. A civil suit filed by Greene against Kamara has also been settled, but the amount has not been disclosed. Mordock would guess the total payment would be approaching a million dollars, based on precedent.
Regardless, it's a win for Kamara, the Saints and Saints fans, as the video evidence alone would've allowed the DA's office to potentially push forward with the case without a cooperating witness. Kamara's status as a first-time offender also likely worked well in his favor as his camp worked out a deal.
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"There was always a chance that this could’ve gone south. I think I’ve couched my analysis of this saying, look, there is a chance that this goes to trial, there is a chance that he is convicted," Mordock said. "I think he would’ve been convicted, 100% would’ve been convicted at trial of this. But yea, this is a huge win for the Saints, it’s a huge win for Alvin Kamara."
The next question remaining will be discipline from the NFL, which will typically come after criminal litigation has been completed.
"This is a huge lift off Alvin Kamara’s shoulders and a huge, obviously the Saints can deal with the suspension," Mordock said. "I suspect it will be coming down pretty soon, but as we know the NFL, they kind of just do whatever they want.”