Dalvin Cook Found Not Guilty Of Punching Girl In The Face At A Bar

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State running back Dalvin Cook was found not guilty on Monday of punching a woman in the face outside a bar in June after she engaged in a shouting match with him and his teammates.

It took the seven-member jury only about 20 minutes to deliver its verdict after a one-day trial that included the testimony of the alleged victim, one of her friends and several of Cook’s teammates. Cook had been charged with misdemeanor battery.

“I’m just thankful and blessed that the truth came out,” said Cook, who had been indefinitely suspended after being charged in the June 23 incident. “It’s time to go to work — back to the field. I’ve been working, but now it’s time to get at it.”

Cook’s attorneys pushed for the trial to start before Florida State’s season begins Sept. 5 against Texas State. They only called one witness, a graduate student who testified that he watched a group of players argue with Madison Geohegan and her friend, but that none of the players hit her.

Three teammates gave similar testimony, saying that Cook tried to calm the situation as Geohagen and his teammates shouted at each other. Even Geohagen testified that Cook at first was level-headed and tried to stop the fight, telling everyone to “chill out.”

But she testified that he became angry when she pushed Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph and when she told the group she wasn’t impressed that they were players. She told them she was dating Auburn defensive back T.J. Davis.

Geohegan told the jury that Cook shouted, “We can buy you in two years! Google me!”

“I said, ‘Everyone’s on Google,'” Geohegan testified. She said that is when Cook punched her. She said a group of players held him back while he kept flailing at her. Her friend, Keara Lubeskie, testified that Cook also hit her in the side as he was trying to punch Geohegan again.

After the trial, Cook said the opposite was true.

“I know I didn’t commit no crime or do no wrong,” he said. “I know what I was doing that night, and I was making peace.”

Cook’s attorney, Joey McCall, told the jury in closing arguments that the evidence and testimony “just didn’t add up.”

He said if a 215-pound athlete punched Geohegan, she would have suffered more than a cut lip. He noted that she didn’t have any bruising or swelling and it was just a small portion of her lip that was cut.

“That could be from her biting her lip. It could be because her lips were chapped,” he said.

He also noted that the only two people who testified that Cook hit her was Geohegan and her friend Keara Lubeskie, who witnesses said was very drunk. Geohagen admitted to being “buzzed,” but said she clearly remembers Cook punching her.

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Good news for Dalvin, they can use the team picture with him in it now.

And this is why we always use the word “allegedly” and say things like “if this is true…” etc. Because even in today’s blog culture of everything being all about the pageviews and taking hard stances on things, there are still things like “innocent until proven guilty.” And a jury taking less than a half-hour to declare Dalvin Cook not guilty is basically the end of that story.

Talk about a huge relief for the Seminoles after one of the roughest off seasons in recent memory. Arrests, violence against women, having to ban social media and trips to bars, a constant flood of negative stories. Time to get back on the field and play some football, and doing that with your starting running back is an added bonus.

I’ll tell you what though – he may not have punched a woman in the face, but he’s not off the bad guy radar. People don’t forget Dalvin.