Getty Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has been accused of domestic assault and taking his ex-girlfriend hostage. However, Cook's camp argues it was he who was the victim.
One tweet sent the NFL community and Minnesota Vikings fan base into confusion.
Late Tuesday night, November 9, ESPN insider Adam Schefter, notorious for having the first scoop on NFL breaking news, leaked information from Dalvin Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, that the Vikings running back was a “victim of domestic assault and extortion” in a pending lawsuit.
Hours later, the Star Tribune obtained the lawsuit, filed by Cook’s ex-girlfriend, Gracelyn Trimble, which accuses Cook of “assault, battery and false imprisonment” for an incident in November 2020.
Before the suit was filed, the two parties held settlement discussions, but no agreement was reached, per the Star Tribune.
Several interpretations of what took place are circulating the web. Here’s a breakdown of what the suit claims and Cook’s defense.
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Ex-Girlfriend Accuses Cook of ‘Taking Me Through Hell’
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On November 19, 2020, Trimble, 29, flew to Minnesota to break up with Cook, 26, and get her belongings from his Inver Grove Heights home, per a Dakota County District Court lawsuit gathered by the Star Tribune.
Trimble accused Cook of “giving me a concussion, leaving a scar on my face and taking me through hell” and is seeking monetary damages and, she says, accountability, according to the Star Tribune.
Whether Trimble entered with consent or was breaking an entry could be a point of contention in the suit.
Cook’s attorney, David Valentini, responded to the lawsuit, arguing that Trimble broke into Cook’s house, assaulted him and two houseguests and is now trying to “extort him for millions of dollars.”
Here’s what the rest of the suit alleges, per the Star Tribune:
Trimble, a Sgt. 1st Class in the U.S. Army, entered through the garage and grabbed mace she stored there on her way in, the lawsuit said.
Trimble claims in the filing that Cook got angry when she asked for his help in gathering her things. Cook “grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open,” per the .
She attempted to spray the mace at Cook, but he overpowered her and the mace went into her eyes, the lawsuit said. She went to shower when she was allegedly assaulted again.
Then Trimble went into the bedroom, grabbed Cook’s gun and called her friend, according to the lawsuit. Cook overheard her and threatened her, and beat her with a broomstick, the suit claims.
The next morning, when Cook took her to the airport, Trimble covered her injuries with a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses and a face mask. On Nov. 25 in Florida when she sought treatment for her injuries, she told medical personnel she had been in an ATV accident. She learned she had a concussion along with several deep cuts and bruising, the lawsuit said.
Neither Trimble nor Cook called police or filed a report about the night in dispute. The lawsuit includes text messages purportedly from Cook to Trimble saying, “I know what I did can’t be rewind…If you wanna go to the police I’ll respect that I’ll take my punishment for what I did!”
They saw each other off and on afterward until permanently splitting in May.
WARNING: Below are screenshots of the mentioned text messages and graphic images of Trimble after the alleged assault that were included in the lawsuit.
Text message between Vikings Dalvin Cook and ex girlfriend who filed assault complaint against him from alleged November 2020 incident.
Rochelle Olson of the Star Tribune also posted pictures Trimble filed in the civil lawsuit, showing her bloodied and cut-up face following the November 2020 incident.
Cook’s Defense
Valentini, who has represented several Vikings players in the past, released a response to the lawsuit, arguing that Cook was the victim of assault that night along with two houseguests.
Cook and Trimble met on a Florida beach in 2018 and have had an off-and-on relationship that has had its rough patches, per Valentini. Valentini wrote in his statement that Trimble had damaged Cook’s vehicle on “at least two occasions” and has shown prior history of violence against Cook’s property.
In Cook’s defense, Valentini referred to Minnesota’s Castle Doctrine, which grants individuals the right to self-defense when an intruder enters your home.
Here’s Valentini’s full defense statement on the suit filed against Cook, provided by Schefter:
The evening of November 19, 2020, US Military Sergeant First Class Gracelyn Trimble broke into the home of Dalvin Cook and assaulted him and his two houseguests. Sgt. Trimble and her attorneys are now attempting to extort him for millions of dollars.
While Mr. Cook and Sgt. Trimble had a short term relationship over several months, she became emotionally abusive, physically aggressive and confrontational, and repeatedly attempted to provoke Mr. Cook. Sgt. Trimble damaged his vehicle on at least two occasions, assaulted him and attempted to stop him from seeing other women.
The state of Minnesota applies the castle doctrine as it pertains to self-defense, which means when an intruder enters your home, you have the right to defend yourself and your family or guests. This right to self-defense includes the use of deadly force based on the nature of the perceived threat.
Almost a year ago, on the evening of November 19, 2020, Sgt. Trimble, unlawfully and without the consent or knowledge of Mr. Cook, entered his residence in Inver Grove Heights. Sgt. Trimble gained entry into Mr. Cook’s residence with a stolen garage door opener. Upon entry into the residence, Sgt. Trimble immediately, and without provocation, physically assaulted Mr. Cook, punched him repeatedly and maced Mr. Cook directly in the eyes and then maced his two houseguests.
While Mr. Cook was trying to alleviate the burning of his eyes from the mace, Sgt. Trimble sprayed a second round of mace in his face and then proceeded to arm herself with a firearm. Sgt. Trimble forced Mr. Cook and his guests, at gunpoint, to remain in his residence for the nem several hours.
During this hostage situation, Sgt. Trimble tried to again assault a female guest of Mr. Cook and when Mr. Cook tried to stop the attack, Sgt. Trimble was knocked to the ground and suffered a small cut above her nose. These facts are confirmed by at least two independent witnesses.
Based on information Sgt. Trimble has a prior history of violence including repeated instances of criminal damage to Mr. Cook’s property.
Sgt. Trimble broke numerous laws the evening of November 19, 2020 and for the better part of a year, Sgt. Trimble has been attempting to extort money from Mr. Cook. We are confident a full disclosure of the facts will show Mr. Cook did nothing wrong and any injury Sgt. Trimble may have sustained that evening was the result of Sgt. Trimble’s own unlawful conduct.