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Steelers GM Kevin Colbert: Discipline for Anthony Chickillo to Police, NFL Investigations

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Steelers Anthony Chickillo

Any discipline handed down to Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo will follow the ongoing police and NFL investigations into his actions over the weekend, general manager Kevin Colbert said on Tuesday.

“In regard to the recent incident involving Anthony Chickillo, we will continue to gather information, and we will fully cooperate with the NFL’s investigation,” Colbert said in a statement released late Tuesday morning. “Any discipline involving the player will be determined after the gathering of further information from law enforcement and the league office.”

Chickillo has been charged with simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment after being arrested at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort by Pennsylvania State Police in an alleged attack on his girlfriend, Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman.

He was arraigned on Sunday and released on $10,000 bail and will have a preliminary hearing on Oct. 30. The NFL announced on Monday that it will also be investigating Chickillo’s actions. He faces a potential six-game suspension for a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy with regards to domestic or dating violence.

It’s possible that Chickillo will be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list while the league performs its investigation.

“The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances,” the league’s manual reads. “The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic.

“The Commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the Commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the Active List.”

If Chickillo is not placed on the exempt list, he would seemingly be eligible to return to practice on Wednesday, though the team instructed him not to report to its practice facility on Monday.

Chickillo is in the first year of a two-year, $8 million contract. If released, he would carry a $1.1 million dead salary cap hit for the rest of this season and all of next season.