Former Washington head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion has reached a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a criminal investigation into his activities while he worked for the team.
Vermillion was the subject of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency concerning the distribution of prescription drugs. The team put him on administrative leave last year and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports that he agreed to a deferral of prosecution agreement in a Virginia court on Friday morning.
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera issued a statement regarding Vermillion’s agreement and confirmed that his employment has been terminated.
“I was recently made aware that Ryan Vermillion has entered into an agreement, pursuant to which he has admitted to wrongdoing, but not be charged with any crime, so long as he satisfies certain conditions over the next 12 months,” Rivera said in the statement. “The situation is unfortunate and although it resulted in no criminal charges, it was necessary to move forward in a different direction. Ryan’s employment has been terminated. I want to emphasize that the U.S. Government confirmed from the outset that it viewed the organization as a witness, and not as a subject or target of the investigation. We cooperated fully with federal investigators, and we will continue to cooperate with any supplemental League and NFLPA inquiry.”
The Commanders hired Al Bellamy as their new head trainer in April.
