A teammate filed a complaint against defensive tackle Christian Wilkins after Wilkins kissed him on the head during a team meeting at Raiders headquarters, sources told Channel 13 Sports. The incident occurred days before Wilkins was released.
The interaction was described by one person familiar with the situation as playful, but the teammate did not view it that way. The complaint was escalated to the Raiders human resources department which launched an internal investigation, sources confirmed.
While the Raiders have publicly cited Wilkins injury rehab as the reason for his release, a source with direct knowledge told Channel 13 this was not the only issue. This wasnt the first time something off the field raised eyebrows, the source said, referencing prior concerns about Wilkins’ conduct.
I reached out to Adam Butlers agent on Saturday after hearing he was in the room when the incident happened. The team has not confirmed who the teammate was.
Wilkins was officially released Thursday. The team had already voided the guaranteed portion of his deal on June 4, citing his approach to recovering from a Jones fracture in his left foot. Sources said Wilkins declined an additional procedure the team believed was necessary. When asked about the back-and-forth, a source close to Wilkins said he had his reasons.
The NFL Players Association filed a grievance Thursday challenging the teams decision to void the contract.
Head coach Pete Carroll addressed the situation on Tuesday but kept it brief: We watched our way through the whole thing. We made a decision, and were moving forward.
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Defensive tackle Adam Butler added: Weve moved on from the situation. But whatever you’re going through… just talk to somebody. Get some therapy. Somebody out there will hear you out.
The Raiders did not attach an injury designation to Wilkins release, despite placing him on the physically unable to perform list when he reported to camp. That could signal the team is leaning more on the conduct-related incident to justify its decision.
Wilkins has not commented publicly.
