The family of former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez have broken their silence after he was stabbed and then arrested.
Sanchez, 38, allegedly attacked a 69-year-old grease truck driver outside a pub in Indianapolis, Indiana, shortly after midnight on Saturday, authorities said. The driver then stabbed the Fox Sports analyst multiple times, according to court documents.
“This has been a deeply distressing time for everyone involved,” Nick, Sanchez’s brother, said in a statement to TMZ Sports. “Mark and our family are incredibly grateful for the concern, love, and support we’ve received over the past few days.
“Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he sustained and is focused on his recovery as the legal process continues. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and medical staff.”
On October 4, Sanchez was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery resulting in injury, public intoxication, and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle. His cash bond was set at $300. He is now facing an upgraded felony charge with a hearing set for Tuesday, October 7.
Announcing the more serious charge, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said “we are literally talking about people fighting about a parking spot”.
The two men had got into a dispute in downtown Indianapolis near Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery, after Sanchez became upset at the other man for parking his truck at a loading dock to collect used cooking oil, court documents read.
Footage of the incident captured Sanchez approaching the driver’s door of the truck to speak with the man inside, who was struggling to hear him because he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A brawl followed between a dumpster and the truck, in which Sanchez is “seen throwing [the man] to the ground on the west side of the alley”, it adds. The man told police he “realized things had escalated, and he was now in physical danger”.
The footage shows Sanchez staggering from an alleyway where the fight had taken place and clutching his wounds, before he was sent to hospital. His condition was confirmed as stable on Sunday.
The grease truck driver is now suing Sanchez, and claims he was left permanently disfigured by the alleged attack.
