Ex-NFL QB Mark Sanchez released from custody a week after parking fight arrest and stabbing

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback and sports analyst Mark Sanchez was released from custody Sunday, about a week after police said he was stabbed during a fight with a truck driver outside an Indiana hotel.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Sanchez’s release. He faces a felony battery charge, along with several misdemeanor charges, for what prosecutors have said was a fight over parking.

A police affidavit says the 38-year-old Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted 69-year-old Perry Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on Oct. 4. Tole claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray.

When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.

Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds to his upper right torso, according to a police affidavit. A picture of Tole circulating online shows him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.

Sanchez was in Indianapolis for Fox’s coverage of last Sunday’s game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Sanchez had a 10-year NFL career before retiring in 2019. He spent four seasons with the New York Jets and also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington.

He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.

A defense attorney for Sanchez didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.