Lawyer for linebacker Barkevious Mingo insists allegation star 'pulled at teenager’s underwear as he slept at hotel in 2019' is a lie - and slams Atlanta Falcons for terminating his contract 'without the facts'

NFL linebacker Barkevious Mingo was let go by the Atlanta Falcons after being arrested in Texas on a charge of indecency with a child-sexual contact. He is pictured in his mugshot

A lawyer representing NFL linebacker Barkevious Mingo hit out at the Atlanta Falcons on Monday for their 'rush to judgment' in terminating his contract after he was accused of tugging at a teenage boy's underwear and attempting to have sex with him - an allegation his attorney called a 'lie.'  

The Falcons released Mingo late Saturday night following his arrest on Thursday outside Dallas on a charge of indecency with a child-sexual contact, a felony.

'We are extremely disappointed in the Atlanta Falcons' rush to judgment in terminating Barkevious Mingo's contract before gathering all of the relevant facts and prior to my client having his day in court,' Chris Lewis said in a statement to ESPN on Monday. 'The accusation against Mr. Mingo is a lie. Barkevious knows it -- so does his accuser.'  

'Mr. Mingo appreciates that law enforcement officers have a tough job to do, and he is fully committed to cooperating with the authorities to clear his name. As soon as Barkevious became aware of the arrest warrant, he immediately travelled to Texas to turn himself in and answer to the charge. Now, he is ready to prove his innocence.

'Mr. Mingo understands the seriousness of an accusation like this and the immediate negative impact it can have on a person's reputation, even when there is zero evidence. But, he also knows that he will be fully vindicated when the truth comes to light. When that happens, the true motivation of the accuser will be clear and unambiguous.'

Mingo, 30, was released on $25,000 bond Friday, according to Tarrant County records. If convicted, Mingo faces up to 20 years in prison.

The charges stem from an alleged incident with a boy younger than 17 over the July 4 weekend in 2019, Sports Illustrated reported over the weekend, citing an Arlington Police Department search warrant. Allegations were brought to the police in January 2021, prompting an investigation.

A lawyer for Mingo called the allegations against him 'a lie' and slammed the Atlanta Falcons for their 'rush to judgment' in releasing him 

The Atlanta Falcons terminated Mingo's one-year contract on Saturday. His lawyer complained the team let him go without having all the 'relevant facts'   

According to the documents, Mingo invited a teenage family member and his young friend to an amusement park over the Fourth of July weekend in 2019. 

Before returning to a hotel where the NFL player was staying, Mingo reportedly took the boys to a steakhouse and bought them clothes from Nike. 

According to the warrant, 'the victim was woken up by pulling at his underwear' later that night.  

The victim said that he was 'scared and pretended to be asleep' when Mingo allegedly became more 'aggressive and pulled the victim's underwear down to his shins'. 

Mingo allegedly then tried to have intercourse with the teen.  

The Falcons - who signed Mingo in March to a one-year, $1.25million deal to provide depth at linebacker and on special teams - terminated his contract hours after the news of his arrest broke. 

'After being made aware today of allegations involving Barkevious Mingo and gathering information on the matter, the Atlanta Falcons have terminated his contract,' a post on the team's website states. 

In a Twitter statement on Saturday evening, one of Mingo's attorneys, Lukas Garcia, called the allegations against his client 'completely baseless'.  

'Barkevious Mingo is innocent,' Garcia declared in a statement obtained by NFL insider Ian Rapoport. 'At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue.'  

Garcia added: 'Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive. We are confident when the truth comes to light, my client will be fully exonerated.'  

Jail records listed an address for Mingo in West Monroe, Louisiana. 

Mingo was chosen by Cleveland as the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft after earning second-team All-SEC honors with the LSU Tigers. 

During his NFL career Mingo also has played for Chicago, Houston, Seattle and New England - where he won a Super Bowl title in 2017.

The Falcons released an initial statement addressing Mingo's arrest earlier on Saturday.  

'Our organization became aware of the allegations involving Barkevious Mingo today and are currently gathering information on this incident,' the statement read.

'The Falcons take the allegations very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.' 

Mingo was chosen by Cleveland as the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft after earning second-team All-SEC honors with the LSU Tigers. He is pictured playing for the Bears

The case against Mingo was announced a day after Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark was nabbed with an Uzi assault rifle in his Lamborghini when he was pulled over by police in Los Angeles.  

Clark was charged in Los Angeles County with felony possession of an assault weapon on Friday, and faces up to three years in prison over the discovery of the submachine gun inside his supercar. 

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark was charged in Los Angeles Friday with felony possession of an assault weapon

He was also caught with an Uzi in his supercar earlier this month, and was pulled over with two guns in his car in March. 

Clark has been freed on $35,000 bail following the latest incident. The Kansas City Chiefs have yet to comment on the incident. 

Clark was previously arrested on March 13 after a traffic stop when officers found a firearm and two loaded guns in the car after pulling his car for not displaying a front license plate as required by state law.

The March arrest came just months before a federal judge overturned a California ban on assault weapons on June 4, claiming the ban violated the Second Amendment's constitutional right to bear arms.

However, assault weapons still remain illegal to buy and own in California while the state works to appeal the decision - meaning Clark was also charged over Friday's stop. 

The charge on Friday is unrelated to another very similar case against Clark. That one saw him arrested on June 20 in Los Angeles over claims an Uzi was sticking out of a duffel bag from inside his Lamborghini after his car was stopped by police.