Falcons announce termination of LB Barkevious Mingo’s contract

Following his recent arrest, the Falcons have released Barkevious Mingo.

On Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons may have found out with the rest of us about the arrest of one of their offseason additions, linebacker Barkevious Mingo. As first reported by Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, Mingo had been arrested following an offense of indecency with child sexual contact and was released on bail.

Following the news, the Falcons announced that they were gathering information on the the arrest and the incident that sparked it, and would continue to monitor the situation, while Mingo’s attorney issued a denial. Following that review and whatever it may have entailed, the team announced early Sunday morning that they had officially terminated Mingo’s contract with the team, including the following short statement:

After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract.

The accusations date back to 2019 and are horrifying, as outlined in today’s Sports Illustrated story, and it’s not at all surprising that Atlanta swiftly dropped him. His guilt or innocence will be determined in court and we can only hope justice is done, but the NFL’s personal conduct policy gives the league and teams leverage to suspend or part ways with a player whose actions and choices harm the team’s and/or the league’s image.

The legal proceedings for Mingo are just beginning, in other words, but his brief time with the Falcons is over.