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Dorial Green-Beckham on rookie symposium topics: 'It's serious stuff'

BEREA, Ohio -- Titans wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham has a special appreciation for this week's NFL rookie symposium at the Cleveland Browns' facility. Domestic violence is a topic, and after Green-Beckham's involvement in a case that derailed his career at Missouri, he's absorbing all the information he can get.

"I know now what I can and can't do," Green-Beckham told ESPN.

In April 2014, Columbia (Mo.) police investigated Green-Beckham after he allegedly forced his way into an apartment and pushed a woman down at least four stairs while trying to see his girlfriend, a friend of the victim. Police said they couldn't proceed with the case, citing reluctant witnesses who feared the potential backlash of a football community over a criminal complaint involving a star player.

Missouri suspended Green-Beckham -- who also had two previous marijuana-related arrests -- indefinitely after the incident and ultimately dismissed him from the team. He spent a year on Oklahoma's roster as a transfer and fell to the second round of the draft in May after his waiver request to play immediately at Oklahoma was declined by the NCAA.

Green-Beckham believes his career would be worse off had the incident happened while in the NFL instead of in college, because it's a "bigger deal" as far as punishment. The league's new conduct policy prompts a six-game suspension for a first-time domestic violence offense and a lifetime ban for a second.

"The (NFL) talked about it last night how important it is to make sure (to know) most of the problems come from alcohol and women," Green-Beckham said. "They talk a lot about it, and they want us to put ourselves in better situations ... All of that stuff, they take very seriously. It's serious stuff."

Green-Beckham declined to discuss the details of his incident at Mizzou, saying he was in the "wrong place at the wrong time." At the time of the incident, Green-Beckham said in a statement given to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch through his father that he accepted "responsibility for my conduct and my mistakes." He went on to say that his girlfriend or her friends shouldn't be blamed and that he wanted "to be better," in part through entering counseling.

Green-Beckham said he heard from the NFL this week that teammates should always try to help each other if relationship conflicts arise.

"Something was said that supposedly I did, and it can all go wrong," said Green-Beckham of his case. "But I had the chance to go to Oklahoma and surround myself with better people and learn from those experiences."

If Green-Beckham finds himself in a disagreement in the future, he plans to call someone in the organization for help and "leave the situation" before it escalates.

"Get as far away as you can from that person, and relax," Green-Beckham said. "If it was me and I had a girlfriend and we got into it, I probably wouldn't go back to the house that night. I would go to a friend's house, let it calm down, then be good the next day."

Green-Beckham is seeking healthy relationships, he said.

"Who do we want in our circle," Green-Beckham said. "Can I trust them? Can I be around them?"