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Falcons star James Pearce Jr. will miss nearly half of the upcoming NFL season over his alleged role in a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson, earlier this year.
Pearce has been barred eight games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, ESPN reported on Friday.
It is not yet known if the 22-year-old will appeal.
Palace Of Fine Arts on Thursday, February 5, 2026, in
San Francisco. FilmMagic
Pearce’s ban comes six months after he was accused of terrorizing Jackson, a former Los Angeles Sparks star who now plays for the Chicago Sky, on a Florida roadway.
Police wrote in an incident report that after Jackson had broken her dating relationship off with Pearce, he chased her down in his Lamborghini SUV and “intentionally collided into the rear of her vehicle.”
Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center on Sunday, May 17,
2026, in Minneapolis. Getty Images
As Jackson made maneuvers to get away, police stated in the report that Pearce then “intentionally collided head-on with her vehicle.”
Cops arrived on the scene moments later, and when they ordered Pearce to get on the floor, the former first-round draft pick did not obey commands, according to the incident report.
Pearce allegedly drove away from cops and, after he crashed his ride in a further attempt to flee, police said he tried to evade them on foot.
He was ulitmately corraled, however, and taken into custody.
was arrested on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Florida. Doral Police Department
Pearce was hit with several felony charges over the incident, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, and fleeing and eluding police officers.
In April, though, he cut a deal with Florida prosecutors to close out the case.
His attorney, Jacob Nunez, said in a statement at the time that Pearce was entering into a pretrial intervention program and if he completed all of its conditions “without violation,” his charges would be dismissed.
The Falcons were reportedly aware that the lengthy suspension was coming, as they have buried Pearce on their depth chart this summer.
Pearce played in 17 games for the Falcons during his rookie season last year, tallying 10 ½ sacks.
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