The Sports Xchange

A lawsuit against Washington Redskins linebacker Junior Galette reportedly has been dismissed.

The suit was vacated because the plaintiff failed to hire a new lawyer or appear in court, ESPN reported Monday. The suit had been filed by a woman who accused Galette of physical and mental abuse during an alleged assault in January at Galette’s home in Kenner, La. Galette was arrested and initially charged with domestic violence, but the charge was dismissed Feb. 19.

After the lawsuit was dismissed Monday, Galette’s attorney, Ralph Whalen, said in a statement: “From Day 1, we have been confident this suit would be swiftly dismissed. The suit came only after we rejected her former lawyer’s offer to pay her millions of dollars in exchange for not filing this baseless suit. We are delighted that the frivolous civil suit and meritless criminal case have been swiftly dismissed. Now, Junior can hopefully focus on football and put this incident, where he did nothing wrong, behind him.”

Galette is still being investigated by the NFL over a 2013 video that purportedly shows him striking a woman with a belt during a scuffle in South Beach, Fla.

The New Orleans Saints released Galette in late July, and he signed a one-year contract with the Redskins on the eve of training camp, July 31.

Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said he and other members of the team’s front office interviewed more than 20 people about Galette before deciding to sign him.

“I will promise you guys this: Being new here and knowing where we’re going and what we want to build, I’m not going to bring a bad guy in,” McCloughan said Aug. 3. “I will not give on that, at all.

“(He’s) not a bad guy. All players have issues. We all have some kind of issues. We’ve all made mistakes. I don’t want repeat offenders. I don’t want the guy that I know is not going to be a good guy to bring into our locker room.

“What you always read in the media and hear in the media is not always accurate. We did our investigation. We were thorough, thorough, thorough. (We talked) to the league office, other players and coaches in the league. This guy we feel very comfortable with going forward. Very comfortable.”

Galette recorded 22 sacks the past two seasons with the Saints, including a career-high 12 last season.