FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL-41 9/20/00

COLTS DEFENSIVE BACK SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY FOR TWO
GAMES FOR VIOLATING NFL PERSONAL CONDUCT POLICY

Defensive back Mustafah Muhammad of the Indianapolis Colts has been suspended without pay for the team’s next two games for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy, the NFL announced today.

Muhammad was convicted on August 30 of one count of domestic battery. He was sentenced to a suspended one-year jail term, placed on probation for one year, and ordered to perform community service and participate in domestic violence counseling.

"As an entity whose continued success depends on integrity and public confidence, the NFL simply cannot tolerate conduct that endangers the public or casts a negative light on the league and its players," Commissioner Paul Tagliabue wrote in a letter to Muhammad.

Under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy, a player arrested for or charged with a crime involving the use or threat of violence to another person is required to undergo an immediate, mandatory clinical evaluation by professional experts and, if directed, appropriate counseling. If the court ultimately determines that he violated the law, the player faces mandatory discipline in the form of a fine or suspension without pay.