911 call: Bengals’ Jermaine Burton ‘said he was going to kill himself’
While wide receiver Jermaine Burton didn’t become much of a contributor to the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense after being chosen in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 26, he established himself as the team’s kickoff returner in the second half of his rookie season, including compiling 146 kickoff-return yards in a 44-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 1, the most for a Cincinnati player in six years.
But on the day before the Bengals’ rematch with the Steelers on Saturday night – a game that Cincinnati had to win to keep its playoff hopes alive – the NFL team announced Burton had been left at home, attributing his benching to a “coach’s decision.”
That news was accompanied by reports, supported by court filings, that the former Alabama wide receiver was being evicted from his apartment.
On Wednesday, a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer cited something perhaps more relevant to the coach’s decision than an eviction: On Dec. 30, a 19-year-old woman who had been dating Burton called 911 to report the wide receiver had chased her into her apartment, broken her phone, choked and hit her.
The woman also said Burton had put a knife to his neck and threatened suicide.
“He said he was going to kill himself,” the 911 call said. “He’s a narcissist. He’s a manipulator.”
The police report said the woman suffered minor injuries that did not need medical attention and had decided not to press charges.
The Bengals released a statement after being contacted by the Enquirer: “We are aware of information related to Jermaine Burton. We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.