San Francisco 49ers Release Bruce Miller After He Reportedly Punches 70-Year-Old Man in Face

The San Francisco 49ers announced the release of fullback Bruce Miller on Monday, following reports of his arrest on assault charges earlier that morning.

The 49ers have released Bruce Miller.

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers)September 5, 2016

That's a pretty brief statement! Fortunately, San Francisco's KTVU has a bit more detail about the situation:

"Miller allegedly tried to check into the Fisherman's Wharf Marriott Hotel on Sunday night, but was told the hotel was full.

"Sources say he returned Monday morning and knocked on one of the guest room doors.

"The guest opened the door and informed Miller that he had wrong room.

That's when Miller allegedly began attacking the guest. The guest's father, who was also staying in the room, came to his son's aid, and was also attacked by Miller.

"Sources say that man, who is 70-years-old, was punched in the face and suffered broken bones."

Miller reportedly fled the scene and was arrested later. Both hotel guests were taken to the hospital.

This is not the football player's first run-in with the law due to apparent anger-management issues. Last year, Miller was arrested in Santa Clara on charges of spousal abuse when he and his fiance at the time got into an argument; according to a release by Santa Clara PD, he "pushed the victim causing her to fall to the ground and destroyed her cell phone." Miller later pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace, and had to attend a 16-week domestic violence counseling course as part of the plea deal. He was not punished by the NFL.

A representative for Miller told Broadly last year, "In order to resolve the case, because the district attorney would not dismiss the charge, [Miller] agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge, which is like shouting in the street. At the time it was extremely annoying—very disheartening—because Bruce is a fine young man and very well regarded in the community and in the organization."

Given his release, that may no longer be the case.

The 49ers have been in the news a bit more than usual this preseason mostly thanks to quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been sitting or taking a knee during the national anthem before games to protest police brutality and systemic racism in this country. His method of protest has been the subject of intense discussion and much criticism for over a week now, but seeing as Bruce Miller has become the first 49er to physically attack someone over a disagreement this preseason, I'm sure the target of everyone's condemnations will shift. (I, for one, am eminently curious as to what the NFL front-office executive who called Kaepernick a "traitor" has to say about Miller!)