More to come later, but I wanted to post the transcript of David Kircus’ media briefing, which was held this afternoon after the Broncos completed their ninth OTA day and their second team-camp session:
WANT TO TELL US HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SITUATION?
Well, as far as the situation goes — some of the specifics in the case I obviously can’t talk about, for obvious reasons. I was just going to mention something about the polygraph test, which is obviously out there. I took that and I passed that. I went to Coach Shanahan after the incident. He asked me what happened, and I told him the story, and I told him that I was simply defending myself. I told him that I would take a lie-detector test, that I would do whatever it takes to get the team and the coaches to believe me, because it was the truth, and I had nothing to hide. So he set it up, and I went downtown and took the polygraph test. I’ve never done it before. It’s a pretty — it’s a different kind of situation. It’s just something that I hope to never have to do again, but I wanted to do it, and I wanted to get the truth out there. I was 100 percent confident that I wasn’t going to fail.
HOW HARD IS THIS FOR YOU? YOU WERE A FEEL-GOOD STORY WITH THE SUBWAY THING AND ALL:
Well, that’s just the way it works — especially when you’re a professional athlete, things get a little blown out of proportion, and I understand that. That’s why I didn’t say anything at first, because I just wanted to let the due process take its course, and I’m going to do that. It could be six months, it could be a year, who knows how long that’s going to take, but it’s just a tough situation for me, because I’ve never been in that situation. Anybody that really knows me as a person knows that maybe I put myself in the wrong situation as far as being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I admit that 100 percent. That’s something that I’ve learned from already, and I know I’ll never do again, but as far as being in the wrong — when it comes to that situation as far as what happened, I don’t think I was in the wrong, and I know I wasn’t in the wrong. The reality is that the due process will take its course and it will end when it ends.
MORE ON YOUR SIDE OF THE STORY?
Like I said, as far as the specifics go, I can’t get into that for legal (reasons). That’s obvious. The polygraph was out there, and I just wanted to come out and say that I was the one that brought it up to Coach (Shanahan). I wanted to take it, and he let me take it. Like I said, I wanted the support from the coaches and the teammates, because obviously they weren’t there at the time, and I’ve only been here a year. So they’re still trying to get to know me. I know they trust me as a teammate and as a friend, and just as a person, so I wanted to just take that extra step and stay, ‘Sure, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I’ve learned from that, and as far as the other things, the other allegations, I’m just going to take this lie-detector test and prove that I’m not lying.’
YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG, THEN?
No, I didn’t.
YOU WERE QUOTED AS SAYING, ‘YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF.’:
I just heard that that came out. Like I said, that’s something that wasn’t part of the lie-detector test. It’s part of the case that they say they have against me. I don’t even know, to be honest with you. I’m not even familiar with that part of the case yet, so I can’t even mention it.
ARE YOU AS CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL BE EXONERATED IN COURT AS YOU WERE WITH YOUR TEAMMATES WITH THE LIE-DETECTOR TEST?
Am I confident?
ARE YOU JUST AS CONFIDENT:
Well, sure, I’m confident. If I was to say I wasn’t, that wouldn’t make much sense. Of course I’m confident about that. That’s why I wanted to take that lie-detector test — to show how confident I was, that I wasn’t in the wrong.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THIS WHOLE THING?
Well, I guess the biggest thing is that you’ve just really got to be careful as far as where you are and when you’re there because there’s people out there that might know the situation you’re in as far as being a professional athlete, and maybe they think that you’re a little more vulnerable than somebody that’s not a professional athlete. It’s something that you’ve got to be careful of. I’ve never been put in that situation before. It’s something that was a learning experience for me, and I definitely learned from it.
WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT TAKING THE LIE-DETECTOR TEST?
No. We even talked about that. I said, ‘If I fail this test, then you can kick me off (the team).” That’s how confident I was. Obviously I’d never taken one before and I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know in my mind that I was telling the truth as far as my story to Coach Shanahan and the team, and I just let the rest take its course. I don’t know what to expect from the test, but I knew that I was going to tell the truth. So I was 100 percent confident I was going to pass.
SO YOU SAY YOU MIGHT HAVE USED BAD JUDGMENT?
Well, my bad judgment was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t break any laws by going where I was, and it’s just — I was out at the time of night where I shouldn’t be out. That’s obvious. As I’m growing up, as I’m becoming an adult — which is a slow process for some people — it’s just one of those things that you learn from. If you’re somewhere you’re not familiar with the surroundings or the people, you probably shouldn’t be there — especially at that time of night.
JUST TO CLARIFY — IT WAS COMPLETELY YOUR IDEA TO TAKE THE LIE-DETECTOR TEST?
Yeah. He supported it.
YOU CAME TO HIM WITH THAT IDEA?
Yeah.
WHO ADMINISTERED THE TEST?
An FBI agent.
A FORMER OR CURRENT FBI AGENT?
To be honest with you, I don’t know.
DOES THIS SEEM KIND OF SURREAL TO YOU?
It’s something that I can’t change right now. It’s something that I’ve got to live with. I’m not going to walk around with my head down. I’m not going to do anything different in my life. I’ve just got to keep going about practicing, being with the team and living my life. The other reason I wanted to do this is that I don’t want to lose (repetitions on the field). Obviously, this is a long process and it takes six months to a year, so if there’s any doubt in the coaches’ mind — or even the players’ minds — then my reps are going to go down and it’s not going to look very good for me to be here. So I wanted to get it out of the way, just for the guys to believe me, to know that I did defend myself.
