‘I’m not a bad person,’ Frank Clark says after first Seahawks practice

RENTON – Frank Clark expressed regret about the incident but declined to discuss its specifics. He acknowledged the seriousness of domestic violence while saying he wasn’t guilty of it. He defended his character without getting defensive.

As Clark spoke with a large group of media members at Seahawks headquarters Friday, he smiled, laughed and did his best to separate himself from the allegation that he struck his then-girlfriend during an altercation in November, a claim that has been at the center of a week’s worth of criticism over Seattle’s decision to draft him.

“I’m not a bad person at all,” he said. “I’m a great person.”

Video, quotes from Frank Clark | Photos: Seahawks begin rookie camp

All eyes were on Clark as the Seahawks began their three-day rookie minicamp, which marked his return to the football field after being kicked off Michigan’s team midway through last season following his arrest on a domestic violence charge. This practice was Clark’s first chance to show off the talent and potential that led Seattle to draft him in the second round, envisioning a pass rusher with a quick first step and the versatility to line up all over.

But Clark’s football future isn’t as important right now as his personal past, not with all the unanswered questions about the incident that took place in an Ohio hotel room last fall. According to a police report, Clark was accused of punching the woman, grabbing her by her throat, picking her up and slamming her onto the ground.

Clark was vague when asked Friday about what happened on the night of the incident, saying only that he put himself in a “bad position” and later referring to the resolution to that case as indicative of the truth. Clark reached a plea deal last month that reduced the charges of domestic violence and assault to a charge of disorderly conduct.

Clark was asked how he feels about what’s been said by those who don’t believe his side of the story.

“It matters because at the end of the day you don’t want to be labeled as what some call a woman beater or things of that nature,” he said, “but at the same time it doesn’t bother me because I know what I did and what I didn’t do. I don’t want to get into the specifics of the case, but at the end of the day the coaches and the staff here, they had the faith in drafting me and they did their job in what they did and they showed faith in me.”

The Seahawks have been adamant that they wouldn’t have drafted Clark if they didn’t believe in his innocence, which isn’t easy to reconcile with the accusations made in the police report as well as photos showing the woman bloodied and bruised (photos also show Clark with blood on his nose, which the woman said she bit).

Head coach Pete Carroll said the Seahawks arrived at that conclusion partly because of information they discovered that contradicted some of what was contained in the police report.

“There is enough facts out there that have told the story after the initial report was in. I think there was enough stuff if you dig in and read all of the stuff, the story that’s told by the process, the prosecution and all that was compelling in contrast to what you read,” he said. “So I don’t know what it says about police reports, but I think that was pretty – it was very telling. That just added to the story. It was one part of it that we put together to make some sense of this.”

Clark was asked how he’s different now from when the incident occurred.

“I’d just say mentally,” he said. “When you go through what I’ve been through these last couple of months, a weak person would have folded. But I stayed mentally strong. I’m mentally solid and all I can do is push forward. I can’t go back in the past and change things. If I could, I would. I would change a lot of things, but at the same time I can’t. All I can do is progress from here. I can move forward and I can continue to become a better person.”