Chad Wheeler’s victim will permanently have a steel plate and bolts in her arm

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Technically, former NFL offensive lineman Chad Wheeler enjoys, as does every American citizen charged with criminal conduct, the presumption of innocence. The evidence, however, of the crimes he committed against Alleah Taylor is obvious.

Barring an argument that it wasn’t him — an argument he has not tried to make — Wheeler inflicted violence against Taylor, in multiple forms. Appearing on CBS This Morning, Taylor talked about her injuries.

“I still have to regularly get my concussion checked,” Taylor said. “I have bolts . . . and a steel plate I’m gonna have forever in my arm. . . . I’m gonna have . . . to deal with this the rest of my life.”

She also explained how the incident began.

“He stood up,” Taylor said. “And he told me to bow down. And I asked him why. And he didn’t respond. He just told me to bow down again. And I told him no. And he immediately grabbed my neck. And that’s when things began.”

It has been claimed that Wheeler suffers from bipolar disorder. Taylor was asked whether she witnessed any evidence of mental-health issues during the interaction.

“To be honest, I don’t know,” she said. “He went and ate dinner after doing this to me. And he didn’t take the same approach with the cops as he did with me.”

Wheeler surely will never play in the NFL again. That isn’t stopping players from continuing to insist that the NFL take action against Wheeler, if for no reason other than to send a clear and unambiguous message that certain incidents are too clear and obvious to make silence and inaction not an option.