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Fox Sports extended its thoughts and prayers to announcer Mark Sanchez as he recovers from being stabbed in Indianapolis early Saturday morning.
However, what many football fans noticed was what Fox’s Charissa Thompson didn’t mention: Sanchez’s arrest on misdemeanor charges of battery with injury, public intoxication, and illegal entry into a vehicle.
The ex-USC and New York Jets quarterback was taken into custody at an Indianapolis hospital following the stabbing incident, which police indicated happened during a physical dispute with a 69-year-old food delivery driver.
‘Friday night in Indianapolis, one of our team members, Mark Sanchez, was involved in an incident that we are still trying to wrap our heads around,’ Thompson told Fox Sports viewers on Sunday morning. ‘At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, his family, and all of those involved.’
Thompson made no mention of the driver, who police say was also injured. As a result, Thompson and Fox faced immediate backlash online by critics seizing on the unproven assault accusations against Sanchez.
‘Lmaooo he was the one beating up an old man for no reason and this is how they portray it,’ one fan remarked. ‘What a joke.’
Former USC Trojans and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, right, with his wife Perry and son Daniel attend the game against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center on January 27, 2024
Fox Sports’ Charissa Thompson had the unenviable task of reading a statement on Sanchez
‘Wow!’ another added. ‘He assaulted a man and this is what you put out there?’
Another angry viewer compared Fox Sports to its parent company’s news division.
‘Foxsports turning into FoxNews,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘Not reporting the entire story. Come on guys, you can do better than this bulls*** segment! He beat up a senior citizen, in a drunken stupor. Way to represent your network huh?’
Others were mor succinct in their responses.
‘This is shameful,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Get over yourselves @NFLonFOX. Thoughts and prayers?’
An initial hearing had been scheduled for 8:30am ET with bond set for $300.
‘This incident should never have happened,’ Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement issued Sunday.
‘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. As with any case, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.’
He was reportedly stabbed in the chest during a dispute with a food delivery driver at Loughmiller’s Pub & Eatery in downtown Indianapolis (pictured)
Sanchez allegedly accosted the truck driver, who believed he was in danger, at a loading dock in downtown Indianapolis, according to an affidavit obtained by ESPN.
As the confrontation escalated, the fearful driver is said to have sprayed Sanchez in the face with pepper spray.
Sanchez reportedly continued to advance towards the driver, who thought the former quarterback was ‘trying to kill me’ and pulled a knife, striking him ‘two or three times.’
The truck driver said he was then thrown against a dumpster, leaving him to believe he was in a ‘life-or-death situation,’ before a ‘look of shock’ came over Sanchez’s face and he took off.
Sanchez reportedly told a police officer that ‘all he could remember was grabbing for a window.’ He added that he didn’t know who stabbed him or where the incident occurred.
Sanchez allegedly accosted the truck driver, who believed he was in danger, at a loading dock
He is said to have sustained multiple stab wounds to his right torso. The driver also suffered a laceration on his left cheek and was taken to a different hospital than Sanchez for treatment.
The driver told police that the dispute started over Sanchez telling him that he was barred from standing in the loading dock, per the orders of the hotel manager, according to TMZ.
He claimed that he could smell alcohol on the former football player’s breath and that he was slurring his words.
Sanchez to Indiana’s capital city to call Sunday’s Colts-Raiders game for Fox Sports. According to Front Office Sports , Sanchez will be replaced in the booth by another ex-quarterback, former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn. Quinn’s play-by-play partner for the game will be long-time announcer Chris Myers.
Sanchez was the fifth-overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft before an up-and-down career with the Jets that is often remembered for the infamous ‘Butt Fumble’ – when the California native ran into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore and dropped the ball during a 2012 loss to the rival New England Patriots.
He has been with Fox Sports since leaving ESPN in 2021.
