INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback and sports analyst Mark Sanchez was released from custody Sunday, about a week after police reported that he was stabbed during an altercation with a truck driver outside a hotel in Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Sanchez’s release. He faces a felony battery charge, alongside several misdemeanor charges related to what prosecutors allege was a dispute over parking.
According to a police affidavit, the 38-year-old Sanchez, who had been drinking, confronted 69-year-old Perry Tole after he backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks on October 4. Tole claims in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission and physically blocked him before being pepper-sprayed.
When Sanchez allegedly advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled out a knife to defend himself, inflicting stab wounds on Sanchez’s upper torso. The former quarterback was later hospitalized with these injuries.
Photos circulating online show Tole in a neck brace while hospitalized, visibly injured with a deep cut on his face.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis for Fox’s coverage of the game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders. During his ten-year NFL career, he played for the Jets, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington before retiring in 2019. He transitioned to sports analysis for major broadcasters and has been with Fox Sports since 2021.
A defense attorney for Sanchez did not respond to requests for comment.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Sanchez’s release. He faces a felony battery charge, alongside several misdemeanor charges related to what prosecutors allege was a dispute over parking.
According to a police affidavit, the 38-year-old Sanchez, who had been drinking, confronted 69-year-old Perry Tole after he backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks on October 4. Tole claims in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission and physically blocked him before being pepper-sprayed.
When Sanchez allegedly advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled out a knife to defend himself, inflicting stab wounds on Sanchez’s upper torso. The former quarterback was later hospitalized with these injuries.
Photos circulating online show Tole in a neck brace while hospitalized, visibly injured with a deep cut on his face.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis for Fox’s coverage of the game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders. During his ten-year NFL career, he played for the Jets, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington before retiring in 2019. He transitioned to sports analysis for major broadcasters and has been with Fox Sports since 2021.
A defense attorney for Sanchez did not respond to requests for comment.
