Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was arrested for domestic violence in February. Now, almost six months later, the league has announced his eight-game suspension for the 2026 season. However, former NFL player and TV personality Ryan Clark critiqued the decision, saying it should have been “worse.”
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“The James Pearce suspension should be worse, but it should also have many more requirements. The NFL has a domestic abuse, domestic violence problem. 48% of the violent physical crimes in the NFL are domestic abuse,” Clark said on the Pivot podcast.
According to ESPN, Pearce “allegedly used a vehicle to repeatedly ram into a car driven by his ex-girlfriend.” The edge rusher was dating WNBA player Rickea Jackson since their days at Tennessee.
The alleged incident occurred on February 7 in Doral, Florida. As Jackson tried to drive to a police station while calling for help, Pearce attempted to stop her, crashed his vehicle into hers, and took off on foot.
“Pearce was facing felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police and resisting arrest, as well as misdemeanor stalking,” ESPN reported August 15.
According to the intervention, Pearce must stay out of trouble, pass drug tests, and stay away from Jackson for a year, and the charges will be dropped.
“I think about my girls, and I feel like we’ve spent so much time in society of trying to teach women how to be safe, not be harmed, and not enough time teaching men how to not harm women, not to disrespect women. And so if you’re the NFL, it has to go far beyond some life skills meeting that says Don’t put your hand on a woman,” Clark added.
“You got to continue to show me that you could be a changed person. It’s not just because you’re good at football, you just get to go out and play. Some of what these men have done to women- these heinous and evil acts. You don’t deserve to get the applause of playing in front of thousands of people doing a thing that you love that you did for free for years for that type of money to go treat humans, women that way.”
The NFL strengthened its domestic violence policy in 2014 following the high-profile case involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. Under the updated rules, Commissioner Roger Goodell set a baseline six-game suspension for a first offense, with a lifetime ban for a second.
Since then, the league recorded between three and eight domestic violence cases annually from 2014 to 2022, with a high of 11 cases in 2023, per ESPN data. The NFL claims overall player arrests dropped by 50% following the policy update, but domestic violence incidents still fluctuate year to year.
For Pearce, the suspension officially runs from August 30 to November 1. However, he can still participate in preseason games. Meanwhile, the suspension remains final, as the edge rusher has not appealed against it.