Browns DT Mike Hall Jr. credits counseling after DV arrest and suspension

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. is expected to play for the first time this season after serving a five-game suspension stemming from an August domestic violence arrest in which serious allegations were made against him were collected.

Hall described the day as an “unfortunate event.”

Hall was arrested and charged with domestic violence after he allegedly hit his fiancée. She retracted one but not all of the allegations.

The 21-year-old from Streetsboro refused to deny the allegations against him, acknowledged the police reports and updated statements from his fiancée and chose to let people make up their own minds.

“I won’t talk about what happened. I mean, if you want to know what happened, you can just read the police reports or whatever,” Hall said. “People are entitled to their own opinions, so believe what you want to believe or do what you want to do. But at the end of the day I’m still here. At the end of the day, I’m still a Cleveland Brown, and I’ll continue to be here and work hard every day.

Hall began the season on the commissioner’s exempt list due to the incident in August and was officially suspended for five games on October 1, retroactive to the start of the season. That made him available after Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski said they were removing Hall from the Commissioner’s Exempt List and that he would play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He also touched on what Hall looked like in practice as he prepared for his first game action.

“It’s good for him to be out there on the practice field, getting back into the rhythm of practice and moving around, and he looked good,” Stefanski said.

Hall said he was happy to be back – ready to put the August situation behind him.

“First and foremost, I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But I’m just coming back and I’m just happy to be in the same building with the guys. I’m just glad that everyone has welcomed me back after the unfortunate incident that happened recently.” “I’m just moving forward and moving forward and just trying to get back out there and get going,” Hall said.

While he sat out and served his suspension, Hall said he did everything he normally would have done to prepare for football on his own. Hall said he worked out, got treatment, stayed in the building and tried to stay fit.

But Hall also said he had been in counseling to help him grow from the domestic violence incident.

“It was just an unfortunate event, but I only controlled what I can control as a man and as a person. You just have to keep going and just keep going to counseling and so on. It was a real help,” Hall shared.

As he prepares to play football again, Hall said the team hasn’t given up on him.

“No dislikes or anything. No hate or love for the team. So it’s just like I said: I’m happy to be back and I can’t wait to get out this weekend,” he said.

Veteran defensive end Myles Garrett said the D-line unit has been working to keep Hall sharp. The linemen between Garrett, Shelby Harris, Dalvin Tomlinson and Za’Darius Smith have tried to teach Hall the things he needs to know in his NFL debut.

“Just try to give him knowledge and keep him updated on things since he hasn’t been out there and tell him what we saw, explain how we approach the game and how we think said Garrett. “He has a pretty high IQ when it comes to football, so I need to get him up to speed so that when he’s out there, he’s effective, making plays and fitting in well with us.”

With a game on Sunday, Hall wants to put the arrest and the allegations against him behind him. And he and the team hope that Hall can rise from the situation given the seriousness of these allegations and accusations.

“Like I said, just control the controllable factors and just keep doing the counseling,” Hall said.