Prior to Dalvin Cook’s former girlfriend Gracelyn Trimble alleging he assaulted, battered and falsely imprisoned her in his home a year ago in a Dakota County District Court lawsuit, the Minnesota Vikings running back’s agent told Adam Schefter of ESPN that his client was the victim of domestic abuse and extortion.
The agent, Zac Hiller, spoke with ProFootballTalk prior to Trimble, a 29-year-old Sgt. 1st Class in the U.S. Army currently stationed in Italy, filing her lawsuit. “Roughly a year ago, someone unlawfully entered Cook’s house. The female who did it, is a sergeant in the U.S. military, attacked Cook in his home while he had a guest present,” per PFT’s account of what Hiller had to say. “The invader then allegedly tried to extort Cook for millions of dollars, claiming that she suffered injuries during the course of the attack that she allegedly initiated. Because she allegedly entered Cook’s house illegally, he had the right to defend himself, as authorized by Minnesota’s version of the Castle Doctrine.”
Neither Trimble nor Cook called the police or filed a report about the night in dispute and they continued to see each other off and on afterward until permanently splitting up in May, according to The Star-Tribune. Speaking to the paper from Italy, Trimble accused Cook of “giving me a concussion, leaving a scar on my face and taking me through hell.”
Grisly photos included within the lawsuit show Trimble’s face bloodied as well as screenshots of text conversations.
After news of the lawsuit as well as Cook’s response became public, the Vikings released the following statement, obtained by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “We recently received notification from Dalvin Cook’s legal representative regarding a situation that occurred between Dalvin and a female acquaintance in November 2020 and led to an ongoing dispute between the parties,” per the team. “Upon learning of this, we immediately notified the NFL. We are in the process of gathering more information and will withhold further comment at this time.”
The NFL also released a statement: “The Vikings notified the league of the matter. We will decline further comment at this time.”
“We are confident a full disclosure of the facts will show Mr. Cook did nothing wrong and any injury Sgt. Trimble may have sustained that evening was the result of Sgt. Trimble’s own unlawful conduct,” Cook’s attorney David Valentin wrote in a statement.
Selected in the second round of the 2017 draft by the Vikings out of Florida State, 26-year-old Cook was acquitted by a jury in August 2015 after being charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching a woman outside a bar. He leads the Vikings in rushing and has been voted to two Pro Bowls during his five-season career.
That career could be placed on hold if more details come to light or if criminal charges are filed against Cook.
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