The Chicago Bears released Jeremiah Ratliff last week after an altercation with G.M. Ryan Pace, but according to a report, that was not the first time Ratliff was involved in a violent incident at Halas Hall.
According to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, Ratliff had a similar altercation with teammates and coaches prior to a practice during the 2014 season, but head coach Marc Trestman did not discipline the nose tackle for the incident:
“In the last week of the season, according to a player who witnessed the entire incident, Ratliff showed up to practice and was behaving belligerently toward players and coaches. The coaching regime, then led by Marc Trestman, would not allow him to practice.
“Ratliff went ballistic, this player said, and was asked to leave practice. He departed but later returned. Practice was stopped and most players went off to the side while a small group of players and coaches tried to calm Ratliff down and get him to leave.
“It didn’t work initially. Ratliff destroyed the game clock on the practice field, smashing it and kicking it. Later, he shoved an assistant coach to the ground. While all of this went on, Trestman never intervened. He just stood off to the side and watched.
“And this is the most incredible part. The uber-enabling part. Not only was Ratliff never punished by Trestman...he was named one of the captains the next day. The entire locker room was incredulous.”
So not only did Trestman fail to intervene while Ratliff assaulted one of his assistant coaches, but he also rewarded Ratliff’s outburst by slapping a “C” on his chest for the final regular season game against the Minnesota Vikings.
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Ratliff, who signed with the Bears in 2013, was suspended for the first three games of the 2015 season because of a DUI case in Texas, and he had started in two games for the Bears this season before being released last week.
According to several reporters, Ratliff had a heated argument with Pace at the team’s practice facility last Wednesday and was escorted out of Halas Hall be team security.
