Former Florida Gators and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Rainey was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly hitting his girlfriend in a southwest Gainesville apartment complex.
Gainesville Police charged Rainey, 24, of Lakeland, with simple domestic battery, a first-degree misdemeanor, GPD spokesman Ben Tobias said.
The incident started at about 8 a.m. Thursday when Rainey and his girlfriend were saying goodbye at the Hannah’s Condominium complex, at the corner of Southwest 34th Street and Southwest 42nd Place, according to a GPD arrest report.
When they hugged, the woman felt what she thought was her cell phone in Rainey’s pocket. She asked Rainey about the phone, and the couple started to argue.
Rainey then ran around the residence, hid the phone and left the area, police said.
The woman found the phone and later climbed into a car belonging to one of Rainey’s roommates.
When Rainey returned a short time later to find the phone, he confronted his girlfriend at the car.
The couple argued again, and Rainey started to pull the woman from the passenger’s side of the car by her arms, according to the report.
Neighbors said they saw Rainey slap the woman as he pulled her out of the car.
The couple fell to the ground, and the woman ran away. Rainey caught up with her and grabbed at a bag that contained the phone. The couple fell down again.
At 8:26 a.m., GPD officers received a call from a neighbor about the fight and responded to the scene.
Rainey told officers he argued with the woman about the cell phone but denied hitting her, according to the report.
He added that when he confronted his girlfriend, he grabbed the bag, and the two started tugging it. He also said the woman got out of the car voluntarily.
Officers then arrested Rainey and transported him to the Alachua County Jail. At 10:57 a.m., police booked him into the jail, where he remained later that night without bond.
While at UF in 2010, Rainey was arrested on a felony aggravated stalking charge after he sent a text message saying, “Time to die b****” to a girl he dated, according to Alligator archives. The State Attorney’s Office later reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.
Rainey, a member of the Gators’ 2008 national championship team, played four seasons at Florida as a running back, a wide receiver and on special teams.
Pittsburgh selected Rainey during the fifth round with the 159th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He served primarily as a kick returner for the Steelers this season.
At about 3 p.m. Thursday, the Steelers announced that they would remove Rainey from the team roster.
“Chris Rainey’s actions this morning were extremely disappointing, said Kevin Colbert, general manager for the Steelers, in a statement. “Under the circumstances and due to this conduct, Chris will no longer be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Kathryn Varn contributed to this report. Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org. Contact Joe Morgan at jmorgan@alligator.org.
