Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Josh Sills, 25, has been indicted on kidnapping and rape charges by an Ohio grand jury less than two weeks before his team is set to play in the Super Bowl, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Guernsey County Sheriff Jeffrey D. Paden.
[Update]: According to a Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office Incident Report obtained by Deadspin, the victim told police that she had known Josh Sills for 7-8 years and went to high school with him. On Dec. 5, 2019, the victim stated Sills dropped her and her cousin off at the cousin’s house. When the cousin got out of the vehicle, Sills grabbed the victim by the arm and pulled her back into the truck. The victim alleged that Sills grabbed her by her ponytail and tried to kiss her, though she kept telling him to stop and he continued. Another vehicle pulled up behind the truck the victim and Sills were in, and when Sills saw the lights, he grabbed the victim by the neck and threw her down on the seat, climbing on top of her so no one could see them inside the truck.
The victim further told police that, once the friend in the other car went inside her cousins’ home, Sills tried to take off her pants, unbuttoning them and, “touching me down there.” The victim alleges she kept telling Sills to stop, to leave her alone, and let her go inside. When she was finally able to get Sills off of her, he allegedly grabbed her by the neck and pulled her on top of him when he sat up. According to the victim, Sills said “she was doing this and was not leaving until she did this.” Sills then allegedly took his pants off and shoved her face down on him. The victim told police that, for approximately 20 minutes the male grabbed her by the hair and forced her head up and down until “he did his thing.” The victim told police she “spit it back on him and asked him to please let her go,” but Sills tried to kiss her again and asked her “Will you talk to me again after his?” When the victim assured Sills she would, he allegedly said, “OK, that’s fine.” The victim said she then got out of the car and ran into the house.
According to the officer who wrote the incident report, the victim was given a CT scan by a local hospital to check for strangulation injuries, as she stated repeatedly that Sills kept grabbing her by the head and neck. The nurse treating the victim told police that she discovered bruising in the back of the victim’s throat as well as her inner lip and behind her right ear.
Sills has not been convicted of the charges against him. Deadspin reached out to Sills, the Eagles, and the NFL for comment. The Eagles provided the following statement:
“The organization is aware of the legal matter involving Josh Sills. We have been in communication with the league office and are in the process of gathering more information. We have no further comment at this time.”
G/O Media may get a commission
Addiction counseling
Safe Haven Health
Accessible for all
Safe Haven prioritizes your needs with flexible and individuated substance abuse treatment, specifically opioid & alcohol addiction.
We will update this piece if we hear back from Sills, his representatives, or the NFL.
So far, the NFL has not made a statement on Sills’ eligibility for the Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs or whether an NFL investigation into the allegations against Sills is underway or forthcoming. In recent years, the NFL has attempted to combat allegations of domestic abuse and sexual violence by players by educating them about the dynamics of abuse through its heavily criticized “No More” campaign.
Update: The NFL said Sills was placed on the Commissioner Exempt list. While on the list, the OL can’t participate in practice, or games — which would mean the Super Bowl — or travel with the Eagles.
Sills is set to appear in court on Feb. 16. Sills, an undrafted free agent, only appeared in one game for the Eagles this season.
