Former Miami Dolphins running back Mark Walton no longer faces a charge of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, his lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, told ESPN on Wednesday.
Gottlieb said the state of Florida decided to drop the charges after months of investigating. Gottlieb said he was hopeful that Walton, who is an NFL free agent, would get another chance to play football.
Walton is subject to league discipline in the matter, which NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said is still under review. The Dolphins released Walton in November, when they were made aware of the arrest.
According to a police document released to ESPN in November, Walton was accused of pushing a woman into a wall and punching her several times in her face and head.
The officer called to the scene observed swelling to the woman's left eye. The woman had recently become pregnant and told Walton that he was the father. In the audio of the 911 call that was released, the woman says her 2-year-old daughter was in the home at the time of the alleged assault.
Walton, 23, had completed two weeks of a four-game suspension for violating the NFL conduct and substance abuse policy, related to three offseason arrests between January and March 2019. He was released by the Cincinnati Bengals in April 2019 after these arrests, and the Dolphins signed the 2018 fourth-round pick the following month.
Walton received six months of nonreporting probation as part of an August plea deal to resolve those three offseason court cases. Walton's probation was later vacated after he met the court's conditions.
