Ex-NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez
stabbed multiple times in altercation leading to charges against him
[October 06, 2025]
By BRUCE SCHREINER and MIKE MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez was
pepper-sprayed and stabbed multiple times during a late-night
altercation with a 69-year-old truck driver in a downtown
Indianapolis alley, which resulted in criminal charges against the
Fox Sports analyst, according to court records filed Sunday.
Based on hotel video footage of the altercation early Saturday and
the driver’s statement to police, a police affidavit alleges that
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.
Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds to his upper right torso,
the affidavit signed by a police detective said. Sanchez remained
hospitalized early Sunday, according to police. The truck driver,
identified as P.T., had a cut to his left cheek, it said.
Sanchez was in stable condition, Fox Sports said Saturday. There was
no immediate update Sunday.
His initial court hearing was set for Tuesday in a Marion County
courtroom.
Sanchez stabbed multiple times
As the altercation escalated, the driver feared “'this guy is trying
to kill me'” and pulled his knife as Sanchez came at him, the
affidavit said. Sanchez was initially stabbed two or three times,
then stabbed again when he went at the driver again, it said.
“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.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Raiders-Colts game.
Instead, he was charged with battery resulting in injury,
unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — all
misdemeanors. Police got a warrant to obtain Sanchez’s phone and
clothes from the hospital, the document said.
There were no immediate court records indicating whether Sanchez had
legal representation yet.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said 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,” Mears said in a
statement.
Fox Sports announcers acknowledge Sanchez's absence Sunday
Sanchez told police at the hospital that all he could remember was
grabbing for a window, the court document said. Sanchez said he
didn’t 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,” Curt Menefee said Sunday 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
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.
[to top of second column] |
Mark Sanchez walks on the field before an NFL football game between
the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 5,
2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
Police officers found Sanchez with the stab wounds
when they were dispatched to a downtown pub about 12:35 a.m.
Saturday. The truck driver was found in the alley.
Details of the confrontation were disclosed in the affidavit, based
on video footage and the truck driver's statement to police.
The video showed a man believed to be Sanchez running in the alley
toward the truck, the affidavit said. The driver works for a company
that specializes in commercial cooking oil recycling and disposal,
and he was performed his work duties, it said.
Sanchez opened the truck door and began talking to the driver, the
affidavit said. Sanchez told the driver he couldn't be at the
loading dock and that Sanchez had spoken to the hotel manager, the
document said. Sanchez smelled of alcohol and his speech was
slurred, the driver told police.
Affidavit says Sanchez threw truck driver to ground
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 Sanchez “grabbing and throwing” the driver toward
a hotel wall, it said. The fight continued against a dumpster and
Sanchez threw the driver to the ground, it said.
Sanchez climbed into the truck but got out when told by the driver
he wasn't allowed in, it said. Sanchez repeated that he spoke to a
manager and didn't want the driver to replace fryer oil, the
document said. Sanchez tried again to get into the truck and blocked
the driver from calling his manager, it said.
Believing he was in danger, the driver grabbed pepper spray from his
pocket and sprayed Sanchez’s face, it said. Sanchez wiped his face
and advanced toward the driver again, it said.
The driver then pulled his knife and stabbed Sanchez as the
ex-quarterback came at him, it 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. realize that he was in a
life-or-death situation,” the affidavit said.
The driver made it to his feet and stabbed Sanchez the last time as
Sanchez came at him, it said.
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. Sanchez also appeared in
games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington.
Sanchez is married to actor Perry Mattfeld, a former USC cheerleader
whose credits include “Shameless," “In the Dark” and “Chad Powers.”
She told Glamour recently that the couple had twin daughters in
March.
___
Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
