Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was arrested in an Indianapolis hospital on Saturday after being stabbed in the chest in an early-morning incident in the city.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Sanchez, 38 — who retired from the NFL after the 2018 season — was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication. He remained hospitalized Saturday evening and had not yet been booked into the Marion County Adult Detention Center.
Earlier Saturday, Fox Sports said Sanchez was in stable condition. He was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s game between the host Colts and Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The New York Post, citing a police report, said Sanchez was charged in connection with a bloody brawl outside a downtown Indianapolis bar with a 69-year-old delivery driver, who wound up stabbing the former Jets star in the chest in what the driver said was self defense.
The violence allegedly started when Sanchez confronted the driver in an alley outside Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery shortly after midnight and told the driver to move his car, the Post reported, per Fox59/CBS4.
The driver, who was dropping off a food order, told police that Sanchez became aggressive, forcing him to fight in self-defense with a knife after pepper spray didn’t stop the ex-quarterback, the Post reported, citing the TV outlet.
Police said both men were injured during the altercation. The driver, who had not been identified publicly, suffered “significant injuries.”
According to the Post, sources told Fox59/CBS4 that Sanchez was not cooperative with officers on the scene. After being hospitalized, he underwent surgery for his stab wounds.
“We are deeply grateful to the medical team for their exceptional care and support,” Fox Sports said.
Sanchez, 38, was selected by the New York Jets with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft and guided the club to two straight AFC Championship Game appearances. He posted a 37-36 record and threw for 15,357 yards with 86 touchdowns and 89 interceptions with the Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and the Washington franchise.
In college, Sanchez was a big star for Southern California in 2008 when he passed for 3,207 yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Trojans went 12-1 and finished the campaign as the No. 3 team in the land.
–Field Level Media
