UPDATE FROM ESPN:
Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is facing a felony battery charge over an altercation between the former NFL quarterback and a 69-year-old truck driver early Saturday in Indianapolis.
Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears announced the upgraded charge Monday morning, saying Sanchez faces a Level 5 felony charge of battery “involving serious bodily injury.” Punishment can range from one to six years in prison, according to Mears.
Mears added that prosecutors are still investigating the incident and that Sanchez, 38, could face additional charges.
On Sunday, Sanchez was charged with battery with injury, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a vehicle — all misdemeanors. An initial hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.
According to an affidavit for probable cause based on hotel video footage of the altercation early Saturday and statements to police, Sanchez allegedly accosted the driver of a box truck that backed into a hotel’s loading dock.
According to the affidavit, the confrontation escalated to the point where the truck driver believed he was in danger, sprayed Sanchez in the face with pepper spray and, with Sanchez still advancing toward him, said he thought “this guy is trying to kill me.”
The truck driver then pulled his knife and, with Sanchez still coming at him, said he struck Sanchez “two or three times,” according to the affidavit. The truck driver said he was thrown against a dumpster and onto the ground and believed he was in a “life-or-death situation.” The driver, according to the affidavit, then said “a look of shock” came to Sanchez’s face and Sanchez “took off.”
Sanchez was arrested by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at a hospital Saturday.
The affidavit said Sanchez suffered several stab wounds to his right torso area while the driver had a laceration on his left cheek and was taken to a different hospital than Sanchez for treatment.
Sanchez told a police officer that “all he could remember was grabbing for a window,” adding that he did not know who stabbed him or where it happened, according to the affidavit.
Police got a warrant to obtain Sanchez’s phone and clothes from the hospital, the document said.
Sanchez, an analyst for Fox Sports, was in Indianapolis as part of the broadcast crew for the network’s coverage of Sunday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Chris Myers acknowledged Sanchez’s absence on Sunday before introducing Sanchez’s replacement, Brady Quinn. Myers said he wanted to send thoughts and prayers to Sanchez and everyone involved in the incident.
Sanchez played eight seasons in the NFL after being selected fifth by the New York Jets in the 2009 draft out of USC. He helped the Jets advance to back-to-back AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons.
He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Washington, the team he last appeared in a regular-season game for in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was arrested Saturday after he was apparently stabbed in an overnight altercation in downtown Indianapolis.
Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Raiders-Colts game, was charged with battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — all misdemeanors.
Indianapolis police said Sanchez was in a hospital and had not been booked into a detention center. He was in stable condition, according to Fox Sports.
Police said the Marion County prosecutor’s office would make the final charging decision. That office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
Indianapolis police said earlier in the day that they were investigating a confrontation that occurred around 12:30 a.m. Saturday between two men, one of whom was hospitalized with stab wounds. The other man received treatment for lacerations, police said.
Detectives had reviewed video footage of the confrontation, which police said occurred in the popular downtown nightlife Wholesale District next to the Indiana statehouse.
Police said neither man was a local resident and called it an “isolated incident between the two men and not a random act of violence.”
Few other details were available.
“We are deeply grateful to the medical team for their exceptional care and support. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, and we ask that everyone please respect his and his family’s privacy during this time,” Fox Sports said.
Sanchez, 38, 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.
He passed for 3,207 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading the Trojans to a 12-1 record during his junior year, which included a victory over Penn State in the 2009 Rose Bowl.
He spent four seasons with the Jets, starting each of his 62 games while throwing for 12,092 yards and 68 touchdowns with 69 interceptions. The Jets lost in the AFC championship in each of Sanchez’s first two years in the league.
Sanchez also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington. He finished his playing career with 15,357 yards passing, 86 TD passes and 89 interceptions.
The Jets and several of Sanchez’s former teammates posted message of support on social media on Saturday.
“Sending our thoughts and love to Mark Sanchez and his family. Hoping for a speedy recovery, 6,” the Jets said, using Sanchez’s former jersey number.
“Send prayers up for my former teammate mark.. sucks so much to see this,” Kerry Rhodes wrote.
“So sad. Pray for his recovery,” Nick Mangold wrote.
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