Police: NFL Player 'Assaulted Victim' as She Held Baby

"We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear." That from Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace regarding Ray McDonald, who has been released from the team following his arrest yesterday morning on misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment charges. Police in Santa Clara, Calif., say the former 49ers defensive tackle "physically assaulted the victim while she was holding a baby." NBC Bay Area reports police were summoned to an apartment at 3:48am; McDonald was no longer there. The AP reports McDonald, 30, was found about three hours later at a San Jose home (reportedly belonging to retired 49er Justin Smith) and arrested. No word if the woman or baby were injured.

A source tells NBC the footballer pays for a rented apartment in Santa Clara for his ex-fiancee and baby. How the station reports what the source relayed: "On Sunday night, McDonald went out with friends and wanted to return to the apartment and asked her to leave. He left to give her some space ... and when he returned, the police had been called." In December, the 49ers released the 30-year-old, citing a "pattern of poor decision-making." That came a month after the Santa Clara County district attorney's office announced it would not be filing charges against McDonald, who was arrested in August after fighting with his then-pregnant fiancee. In March, McDonald filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who had accused him of rape. The Bears signed him to a one-year contract that month—just 62 days before releasing him. (More Chicago Bears stories.)