Bears Release Ex-49er Ray McDonald After Arrest in California

The Chicago Bears released defensive lineman Ray McDonald after he was arrested Monday in California on a domestic violence charge, the latest in a string of run-ins that have tested the boundaries of the N.F.L.’s tougher personal conduct policy.

McDonald’s release came nine months after he was arrested in a separate domestic violence case and just two months after the Bears signed him to an incentive-laden free-agent contract.

McDonald was not charged in the first case, and the San Francisco 49ers, his team last season, did not penalize him. But in December, three months later, the 49ers released him soon after learning that he was being investigated over an accusation of sexual assault.

Despite the cloud that hung over McDonald, who was drafted in 2007 after playing at the University of Florida, the Bears signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $1.5 million, though none of it was guaranteed. The Bears’ chairman, George McCaskey, told reporters in March that he had initially vetoed efforts to sign McDonald, 30, but had changed his mind after meeting him. He said McDonald had promised to change his behavior.

On Monday morning, though, the police in Santa Clara, Calif., arrested McDonald. According to a police report, officers, responding to a call, arrived at McDonald’s home at 3:48 a.m. They were told that McDonald had assaulted a woman while she was holding a baby. McDonald had left the scene and was arrested in San Jose.

After he was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment, the Bears decided to cut ties with him.

“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray, we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” Ryan Pace, the Bears’ general manager, said in a statement. “He was not able to meet the standard, and the decision was made to release him.”

Kyle Long, an offensive guard on the Bears, supported the team’s decision. After McDonald was released, Long wrote on his Twitter account, “good riddance.”

McDonald’s behavior and the 49ers’ handling of his case have been scrutinized because they have highlighted the trouble teams have had in determining whether and when to penalize players, particularly those who may be contesting charges against them.

McDonald’s latest legal problem occurred in the aftermath of the arrests of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy and other players, which prompted widespread accusations that the league was lax in its handling of domestic violence cases. After being castigated by women’s groups, advocates for victims of domestic violence and even members of Congress, the N.F.L. vowed to crack down on players involved in domestic violence cases.

The league expanded penalties for those found to have committed domestic violence, increased education programs and hired executives to investigate allegations of player misconduct rather than wait for law enforcement agencies.

But much gray area remains. Teams have been left to decide whether to sign players who are still fighting allegations against them or who could be disciplined by the league.

Even as other teams shied away, the Cowboys signed Hardy, a star defensive lineman who had a conviction for domestic violence overturned when the woman involved in the case refused to testify against him during an appeal. Though the Cowboys said that they had done due diligence on Hardy, a former All-Pro defensive end, theN.F.L. suspended him for the first 10 games of this season after its own investigation found that he had used physical force against his former girlfriend.

No team has signed Rice even though his indefinite suspension was overturned on appeal. Peterson, who was suspended after he was charged in the beating of his 4-year-old son, returned to the Minnesota Vikings after a federal court judge said that the N.F.L. had penalized him unfairly.