© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Reuben Foster saga has taken another unexpected turn.
On Apr. 12, the 49ers linebacker was charged with three felony counts, including domestic violence. Foster had reportedly struck his girlfriend eight to 10 times in the head, rupturing her eardrum.
On Wednesday afternoon, the victim, Elissa Ennis, recanted her statement. She said Foster never assaulted her, and he wasn’t the perpetrator for her injuries, blaming another woman instead. Foster supposedly threatened to break up with Ennis after learning about the altercation.
“(Foster) did not strike her, injure her or threaten her,” Ennis’ attorney Stephanie Rickard said via Matt Maiocco. “’She was extremely upset and told him if he broke up with her she would ‘trash his career.’”
Sacramento Bee 49ers beat writer Matt Barrows weighed in on the Foster situation on KNBR Wednesday evening.
Barrows said it’s rare for victims to hire an attorney. When this happens, the victim may attempt to recant his or her accusation in order to make money.
The Santa Clara District Attorney Office continued with the charges despite Ennis’ revised story.
“To me that’s significant,” Barrows said. “The DA is not going to go ahead in a case that they don’t think they can win.”
There are two sides holding firm in this case, for the time being: the DA office and 49ers. The DA office refused to reduce the charges against Foster, while the 49ers haven’t released Foster because they feel there is more to the story.
Perhaps Foster told the 49ers what Ennis has recently claimed: that she fabricated the charges. Foster hasn’t been allowed in the 49ers facilities since he was charged with the three felonies.
“I think the 49ers knowing that said, ‘Okay, they were hoping the charges wouldn’t be as severe as they were,’” Barrows said. “This is sort of the middle ground. We keep Reuben Foster on board because we are very hopeful that he will be found not guilty, but we are not going to keep him around the facility. We are not going to keep him around as if it’s business as usual, because it’s not.”
Ennis’ most recent story potentially added a major wrinkle in this ongoing scenario. Only time will tell whether the charges against Foster are proven true and he is convicted.
Barrows feels the NFL will suspend Foster, regardless of the final outcome. And while the 49ers are staying patient, they also don’t want the case to linger if Foster isn’t charged and remains on the team.
“In this case, if you want Reuben Foster to play as many games as possible,” Barrows said. “I would think they would want to get this thing to trial as quickly as they could.”
Listen to the full segment below.