New Orleans Saints star running back Alvin Kamara was reportedly arrested on a felony battery charge over the weekend after he and a group of friends beat a man unconscious before Sunday’s Pro Bowl in Las Vegas — and despite allegedly knowing about the situation prior to the game, the NFL still chose to let Kamara play.
What happened?
According to a newly released police incident report obtained by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Kamara, 26, and three others in his entourage assaulted a man at Drai’s After Dark nightclub on the Las Vegas Strip early Saturday morning, leaving him unconscious and with a fractured bone in his eye socket.
The four men allegedly stomped on the man approximately 23 times and punched him about nine times, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said. Kamara himself allegedly punched the man eight times, with three of those blows coming after the man was knocked to the ground.
The entire incident was reportedly caught on surveillance video.
It started when the alleged victim, later identified as Darnell Greene, tried to enter an elevator occupied by Kamara and his party. Kamara allegedly put his hand out to stop Greene from entering, but Greene pushed his hand off. That’s when someone in the group punched Greene and the fight began.
Based on the video, Kamara reportedly did not throw the first punch but joined in on the beating after. He punched Greene multiple times both before and after he lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Once on the ground, others in Kamara’s crew stomped incessantly on Greene’s face, chest, and legs.
Video reportedly showed that security personnel broke up the fight. Kamara and his party were escorted out of the club before leaving the area in a black Cadillac SUV.
What else?
In conversations with police on Sunday, Kamara alleged that Greene called someone in his group ugly while they were waiting for an elevator and then later said, “I’ll whup your ass too.”
The NFL star then reportedly stated he saw a fight break out next to him and saw Greene get punched before running away. Assuming Greene was running away after doing something to his group, Kamara said he chased the man down and punched him several times.
But in their report, police noted that video evidence did not support Kamara’s version of the events.
Anything else?
According to the Nevada Current, police informed the NFL that Kamara was a suspect in an assault Sunday morning before he played in the Pro Bowl.
“It was known that [Kamara] would be participating in the Pro Bowl and was interviewed at Allegiant Stadium after the game,” Metro police told the outlet. “Subsequently he was arrested and transported to the Clark County Detention Center.”
Assistant Sheriff John McGrath added that police agreed to interview Kamara after the game in order to gain his cooperation in identifying others in the assault.
“We got in touch with NFL security about 10 o’clock in the morning and let them know that he was a suspect in the case and they located him and he was already on the field,” McGrath said. “So they contacted him and he agreed to meet with us after the game. And so that’s just the way we did it since he was cooperating.”
Some have questioned why police and the NFL didn’t move more quickly. The police report indicated that officers had interviewed Greene at Sunrise Hospital Saturday night around 6 p.m., though it is unclear when police obtained surveillance footage.
In a statement, police told the Current that Kamara was able to play in the game because “there was a delay in reporting due to the victim receiving treatment.”
Still, some might conclude that the NFL chose to sit on the news about the incident to avoid drama before the game.
Kamara was reportedly arrested and booked Sunday on a felony charge of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm. He was subsequently released after posting bond. He will appear in court in March.