The Giants cut lineman Michael Bowie today, a week after he was charged with domestic violence in Bixby, Oklahoma. In a statement, Giants General Manager Jerry Reese said:
We have waived Michael Bowie. As we have already stated, we were made aware of this situation on Saturday. The league has started to gather more information. That process will continue. The outcome of that process will determine whether there is another opportunity here for Michael.
According to local news reports, the incident happened on July 31. Bowie and his girlfriend were fighting over finances, and then it became physical when his girlfriend made a remark about Bowie’s mother, the Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Elmore said, according to Tulsa World. The report added:
Elmore said police determined Bowie grabbed his girlfriend by the neck during the argument and threw her on the ground, then broke two TVs and punched a hole in her wall.
Bowie turned himself in on Monday and paid $17,000 in bail. His agent, Peter Schaffer, told the New York Daily News that he’s innocent: “Michael is an upstanding man, very remorseful about any negative publicity this might bring to the Giants and to the NFL,” Schaffer said. “We are going to work tirelessly to make sure he is exonerated. We’ve talked to all the witnesses and are 100% confident that nothing happened.”
The charges reportedly include one count of domestic assault and battery and two counts of malicious injury or destruction of property. Calls to Elmore and Bixby police were not returned.