JACKSONVILLE – Doug Marrone is believing Leonard Fournette.
Because that's the case, Fournette won't be disciplined by the team for his actions on the sideline during a loss to the Tennessee Titans last Thursday.
The second-year running back was captured on video yelling – "I will beat your ---" at a fan in the stands. Marrone, the Jaguars' head coach, said Fournette told him the fan used a racial slur before Fournette responded.
"He said there was a racial slur, so that's what was told to me," Marrone said Monday as the Jaguars (4-9) prepared to play the Washington Redskins (6-7) at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Sunday.
Fournette declined to speak to the media as a group Monday. Marrone, who said he learned of the video Monday and spoke to Fournette following the team's walkthrough Monday, was asked if Fournette would be disciplined for the incident.
"That's kind of a tough one," Marrone said. "It's a racial slur. That's what the player tells you."
Marrone said the Jaguars' organization did not plan to investigate further.
"I trust the player," Marrone said, adding that he hoped stadium security at Nissan Stadium will be involved.
"No one wants that stuff around this game," he said.
Marrone said Fournette wasn't aware of the existence of a video when the two spoke Monday. Marrone also was asked if a player should react in that fashion even if a racial slur is involved.
"That's hard for me to answer," Marrone said.
Fournette, the No. 4 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Jaguars, rushed for 36 yards on 14 carries in the 30-9 loss to the Titans. The game marked Fournette's return from a one-game suspension for his role in a multiplayer incident in a 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on November 25.
Fournette, who was ejected from the Bills game, also missed a game as a rookie for violating a team rule.
Fournette, who missed six of the Jaguars' first eight games with a hamstring injury, has rushed for 350 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries in six games this season.
