Fox Sports analyst and former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is facing criminal charges after being pepper-sprayed and stabbed multiple times during a late-night altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver in a downtown Indianapolis alley.
Based on hotel video footage of the altercation early on Saturday and the driver’s statement to police, a police affidavit filed in court on Sunday alleged that Mr Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted the driver of a box truck that backed into a hotel’s loading docks, leading to a confrontation outside the vehicle that prompted the driver to defensively pull out a knife.
Mr Sanchez was hospitalised with stab wounds to his upper right torso, the affidavit signed by a police detective said. Mr Sanchez remained hospitalised on Sunday, according to police. The truck driver, identified as “P.T.”, had a cut to his left cheek, it said.
Mr Sanchez was in a stable condition, Fox Sports said on Saturday.
His initial court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in a Marion County courtroom.
As the altercation escalated, the driver feared “this guy is trying to kill me” and pulled his knife as Mr Sanchez came at him, the affidavit said. Mr Sanchez was initially stabbed two or three times, then stabbed again when he went at the driver again, it said.
Mark Sanchez plays for the New York Jets in 2012. (Getty Images: Tom Szczerbowski)
“The next thing P.T. knew was Mr Sanchez looked at him with a look of shock, he slowly turned around, and Mr Sanchez took off northbound in the alley,” the document said.
Mr Sanchez was in Indianapolis to call the Raiders-Colts game. Instead, he was charged with battery resulting in injury, unauthorised entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — all misdemeanours. Police got a warrant to obtain Mr Sanchez’s phone and clothes from the hospital, the document said.
There were no immediate court records indicating whether Mr Sanchez had legal representation.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said on Sunday that his office would “follow the facts and the law wherever they lead”.
“What began as a disagreement between a 38-year-old former professional athlete and a 69-year-old man should not have escalated into violence or left anyone seriously injured,” Mr Mears said in a statement.
Mr Sanchez told police at the hospital that all he could remember was grabbing for a window, the court document said. Mr Sanchez said he did not know who else was involved or where the altercation happened.
“Friday night in Indianapolis, one of our team members, Mark Sanchez, was involved in an incident that, to be honest, we are still trying to wrap our heads around,” commentator Curt Menefee said on Fox’s primary NFL pregame show.
“At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with Mark and his family and all of those involved.”
Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Chris Myers also acknowledged his colleague’s absence before introducing Mr Sanchez’s replacement, Brady Quinn.
Myers said he wanted to send thoughts and prayers to Mr Sanchez and everyone involved in the incident.
Security footage showed a man believed to be Mr Sanchez running in the alley toward the truck, the affidavit said. The driver works for a company that specialises in commercial cooking oil recycling and disposal, and he was performing his work duties, it said.
Mr Sanchez opened the truck door and began talking to the driver, the affidavit said.
Mr Sanchez told the driver he could not be at the loading dock and that he had spoken to the hotel manager, the document said. Mr Sanchez smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred, the driver told police.
Mr Sanchez followed the driver from side to side of the truck, the court document said. When the driver darted toward the driver’s door, video showed Mr Sanchez “grabbing and throwing” the driver toward a hotel wall, it said. The fight continued against a dumpster and Mr Sanchez threw the driver to the ground, it said.
Mr Sanchez climbed into the truck but got out when told by the driver he was not allowed in, it said. Mr Sanchez repeated that he spoke to a manager and did not want the driver to replace fryer oil, the document said. Mr Sanchez tried again to get into the truck and blocked the driver from calling his manager, it said.
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Believing he was in danger, the driver grabbed pepper spray from his pocket and sprayed Mr Sanchez’s face, it said. Mr Sanchez wiped his face and advanced toward the driver again, it said.
The driver then pulled his knife and stabbed Mr Sanchez as the ex-quarterback came at him, the affidavit said. The driver fell onto pallets on the ground, he told police.
“While P.T. was on the ground, he could only see the feet of Mr. Sanchez coming at him, making P.T. realise that he was in a life-or-death situation,” the affidavit said.
The driver made it to his feet and stabbed Mr Sanchez the last time as Mr Sanchez came at him, it said.
Mr Sanchez had a 10-year NFL career before retiring in 2019. He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.
The Long Beach, California, native starred at Southern California before he was selected by the New York Jets with the fifth pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Mr Sanchez also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington.
AP
