Davante Adams, a wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, was sued by a contract worker for Monday Night Football on ESPN for acting erroneously toward the reporter.
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Adams has 9 seasons of NFL experience with the Packers and Raiders. The former Packers player holds the record for the most receiving yards in Packers history with 8,121 and is the only player in NFL history to have three seasons with at least 110 catches, 1,350 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns.
Why did the reporter sue Davante Adams?
The incident happened during a 2022 “Monday Night Football” game following the Chiefs’ 30-29 victory over the Raiders on October 10 at Arrowhead Stadium. One reporter, Park Zebley, a University of Missouri–Kansas City student working for ESPN to cover the game, strode in front of Adams.
Davante appeared to be very upset at the time following his team’s loss and the Raider’s star player knocked Zebley to the ground before making his way to the tunnel. The incident left the reporter extremely shaken, and he was later given a concussion diagnosis.
The statement made by Zebley regarding the WRs’ unprofessional conduct
Following the incident, the 30-year-old was charged in Kansas City municipal court with one count of misdemeanor assault; however, the reporter has chosen to sue the WR.
“A municipal misdemeanor battery charge is not sufficient,” in an interview with the Star, Zebley said. “I’m looking for justice. You can’t shove someone down and walk off like it didn’t happen. Not in real life.”
Zebley’s lawyer, Dan Curry, claimed in USA Today Sports on Friday that his client suffered significant mental harm and distress as a result of the incident and that he now wants to defend himself.
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“He’s looking for compensation. He feels he was bullied, and he wants to stand up for himself,” Dan Curry stated.
Additionally, the lawyer claimed that though Park is not at fault for the incident, the reporter faced numerous online criticisms causing him to become so upset that he moved to a different residence. The reporter has only recently begun his career and is not able to put up with so many abhorrent incidents at a time.
“I think generally there was really maybe two categories: One was what people would say in the comments section in all of this exploding media on it, and a lot of it was hateful and directed toward him. There were others specifically targeting him once they found his contact information, and I think that was a little more disturbing for him,” Curry said.
Although nothing can be said at this time, Zebleys’ statement and lawsuit could result in a suspension if the court takes the reporter’s case seriously.
