Mark Sanchez, the former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst who was stabbed in Indianapolis just after midnight Saturday, was arrested in the hospital where he’s being treated for stab wounds. Sanchez, who spent a decade playing pro ball for several teams, was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s game between the Colts and Las Vegas Raiders.
Around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Sanchez reportedly got into an altercation with another man in Indianapolis’ downtown Wholesale District. While some initial reports suggested that Sanchez was the victim of a robbery, it later emerged that he and another man got into an altercation that escalated.
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Sanchez allegedly assaulted truck driver
According to an affidavit cited by ESPN, Sanchez attempted to assault a delivery driver at a hotel loading dock. The driver first pepper-sprayed Sanchez before pulling out his knife and stabbing the former football player “two or three times.”
The truck driver, in the affidavit, said he thought that Sanchez was “trying to kill me,” and that he had found himself in a “life-or-death situation.”
Sanchez, for his part, reportedly threw the truck driver against a dumpster before the man fell to the ground. The Fox Sports broadcaster also told authorities that “all he could remember was grabbing for a window,” but nothing about who stabbed him or what had happened.
The driver also said in the affidavit that as the confrontation subsided, Sanchez had a “look of shock” before he “took off.”
“This incident should never have happened,” Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement 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.”
Following the fight, Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds. The other individual suffered lacerations.
What happens next?
Sanchez is currently in the hospital and has not been booked into a detention center, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. However, he is facing various misdemeanor charges, including battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.
The police department said the Marion County prosecutor’s office would ultimately make the final charging decision.
“We are deeply grateful to the medical team for their exceptional care and support,” the statement reads. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, and we ask that everyone please respect his and his family’s privacy during this time.”
Sanchez was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Week 5 matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s unclear who will fill in for Sanchez alongside Adam Amin.
During his decade-long career in the NFL, the 38-year-old Sanchez played for numerous teams, beginning with the New York Jets in 2009. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders –– then known as the Redskins.
“Sending our thoughts and love to Mark Sanchez and his family,” the Jets wrote in a post to X. “Hoping for a speedy recovery, 6,” a reference to Sanchez’s jersey number.
