The NFL Draft descends on Cleveland the weekend of April 29 to May 1, with League representatives, team personnel, players, their families, and fans from across the country in tow. As with any other national event, draft weekend will bring heightened attention from law enforcement. This increased law enforcement presence often results in very public arrests for a litany of offenses. For example, during Nashville’s 2019 NFL Draft, an NFL player was arrested for public intoxication and vandalism. Another person was arrested for scaling the fence to access the Draft stage. And during Philadelphia’s 2017 NFL Draft, an individual was arrested by a counterterrorism unit for flying an unlawful drone over the NFL event. These incidents can be deeply embarrassing and damaging to individuals, NFL teams, corporate sponsors, and the League. In our experience, law enforcement will take aggressive positions to make a very public example in hopes to deter future conduct for similar events.
The lawyers at Flannery | Georgalis, LLC are equipped to defend individuals and organizations involved in these highly publicized arrests. As former state and federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents, we know the importance of responding quickly, and we are adept at navigating the media scrutiny often associated with these incidents.