Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo sacks Miami quarterback Seth Lobato during the second half of their NFL exhibition game on Friday, August 8, 2014, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Ccompton@ajc.com)
FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons waived linebacker Prince Shembo, who was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend's dog, today the team announced.
“We are aware of the charges that have been filed against Prince Shembo," a Falcons spokesperson said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed that one of our players is involved in something like this. Accordingly, we have decided to waive Prince Shembo.”
Shembo was considered the most controversial pick made by general manager Thomas Dimitroff when he was selected last season in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
The former Notre Dame linebacker Prince Shembo has revealed at the scouting combine that he was investigated in a sexual-battery incident.
Shembo never was charged in connection with the incident that occurred in his dorm room Aug. 31, 2010. The alleged victim, after reporting the incident to officials, committed suicide 10 days later.
Since the Michael Vick federal dog-fighting investigation, the Falcons had steered clear of players with past problems. But after their first losing season under the current regime, they took a calculated gamble on Shembo.
The team said it completed a thorough background check of Shembo.
“We are very, very aware of the seriousness of the incident,” Dimitroff said. “Obviously it’s a sad situation for the young lady involved. We’ve done a lot of research on many levels from a security standpoint. We’ve done our due diligence as far as making sure that we feel comfortable in making that decision.”
Shembo was removed from at least one team’s draft board, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported before the draft.
Shembo’s father immigrated to the United States from the Congo in 1986. Over his career at Notre Dame, he posted 145 tackles (24 1/2 for loss), had 19 1/2 sacks and 35 pressures.
Shembo started 34 of 51 games at Notre Dame. He played 26 games at right outside linebacker and eight on the left side. He’s considered a 3-4 outside linebacker.
New Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was set to move Shembo back to outside linebacker after he played inside linebacker last season.
Shembo was forced to play inside after the Falcons lost Sean Weatherspoon for the season to an Achilles injury. He split time with Joplo Bartu.
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