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Santa Clara DA decides to not file charges against Ray McDonald

We break down the news that the Santa Clara DA will not press charges against Ray McDonald for domestic violence.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Fooch's Note: There is a memo with some details floating around. Ian Rapoport tweeted some of it:

The Santa Clara district attorney's office will not file charges against San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Hamed Aleaziz. This comes due to what Smith described as insufficient evidence. We have started to get a few details from the DA's office:

McDonald was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence back in August after a party at his house. It came amidst the NFL's attempts to figure out how they would handle domestic violence convictions and arrests. McDonald was the first arrest following the implementation of the new policy. Roger Goodell said the league would wait for the legal process to play out. I would say this means McDonald will not face a suspension, but sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly how the NFL will handle a given personal conduct issue. My guess is we don't see McDonald face a suspension, but at some point we will probably hear something from the league.

The whole situation was extremely volatile. Word got out about incidents at the home back in May, and then there were questions about what appeared to be an overly cozy relationship between the 49ers and the local police. But after all is said and done, there will be no charges. Hopefully McDonald and his fiancee have figured out something with their relationship, because it strikes me as volatile. They are having a child together, so that's really the most important reason to get their relationship straightened out in some form or fashion.