01-08-2023, 10:36 AM -
Here's the one he was jailed for, and then sued over:
PANTHERS' WR STEVE SMITH CHARGED, JAILED AFTER ATTACKING TEAMMATE
Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith was jailed and charged with misdemeanor assault Friday after attacking a teammate earlier this week.
Anthony Bright, a practice-squad player, had a broken nose and was hospitalized for two nights following the fight, which occurred during film session on Monday. Bright filed a report with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police following his release from the hospital.
The Panthers already suspended Smith for Sunday's home game against Atlanta.
"We knew this was a possibility," Panthers GM Marty Hurney said of Smith's arrest.
Smith was charged with assault inflicting serious injury, police Capt. Cam Selvey said. As a misdemeanor, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 120 days imprisonment.
Smith turned himself in to sheriff's deputies around 5 p.m. He was released after posting $2,000 bond.
It has been a turbulent week for the Panthers (3-7), who released OT Chris Terry on Wednesday after he was arrested for failing to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting his wife.
Smith, an All-Pro kick returner as a rookie last season, has apologized for attacking Bright and has agreed to receive counseling for his temper.
Hurney said Smith's arrest would not change the team's punishment, which has been criticized by some as too lenient
The franchise has been plagued by off-the-field problems in recent years. Most notably, former receiver Rae Carruth is in jail for hiring hit-men to kill his pregnant girlfriend, and the wife of former running back Fred Lane is charged in his death.
And here's the short-story of all three:
STEVE SMITH VS. HIS TEAMMATES
Let’s get this out of the way first: Steve Smith beat the crap out of three of his teammates. In 2002 he got in a fight with fellow receiver Guilian Gary. Later that same year, he broke the nose of another receiver, Anthony Bright, during a film session. He was charged with assault for that altercation. Five years later, he again broke a teammate’s nose; this time it was cornerback Ken Lucas.
The account of the Bright fight is pretty horrifying, with reports suggesting that Smith became enraged with Bright after the practice squad player asked for a play to be shown again, and then jumped him after the lights were turned out during a film session (“all hell broke loose”). Bright wound up suing Smith in 2004, claiming that the fight ruined his NFL career.
Since I’m about to talk about what a badass Steve Smith is for the rest of this post, I feel like it’s only right to point out that he has done some pretty deplorable things during his playing career. He knows this; if you want to see how much these incidents have worn on him, watch the E:60 segment about his violent outbursts.
According to an ESPN The Magazine feature on the incident, it sounds like Lucas and Smith had been going at each other in practices when Smith snapped. And the aftermath of that incident has been kind of fascinating. For as disturbing as the fight was, their public and private reconciliation served as a catalyst for the team that season, which the Panthers finished with a 12-4 record. When Smith caught his first touchdown that season, following the fight, he ran over to Lucas and presented him with the ball. Lucas said after the game, “Since day one, since the moment it happened, he has done everything that a man could ever do from a forgiveness standpoint … My hat is off to him. I’m surprised, but I’m not surprised.”
https://grantland.com/the-triangle/steve...the-world/
PANTHERS' WR STEVE SMITH CHARGED, JAILED AFTER ATTACKING TEAMMATE
Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith was jailed and charged with misdemeanor assault Friday after attacking a teammate earlier this week.
Anthony Bright, a practice-squad player, had a broken nose and was hospitalized for two nights following the fight, which occurred during film session on Monday. Bright filed a report with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police following his release from the hospital.
The Panthers already suspended Smith for Sunday's home game against Atlanta.
"We knew this was a possibility," Panthers GM Marty Hurney said of Smith's arrest.
Smith was charged with assault inflicting serious injury, police Capt. Cam Selvey said. As a misdemeanor, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 120 days imprisonment.
Smith turned himself in to sheriff's deputies around 5 p.m. He was released after posting $2,000 bond.
It has been a turbulent week for the Panthers (3-7), who released OT Chris Terry on Wednesday after he was arrested for failing to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting his wife.
Smith, an All-Pro kick returner as a rookie last season, has apologized for attacking Bright and has agreed to receive counseling for his temper.
Hurney said Smith's arrest would not change the team's punishment, which has been criticized by some as too lenient
The franchise has been plagued by off-the-field problems in recent years. Most notably, former receiver Rae Carruth is in jail for hiring hit-men to kill his pregnant girlfriend, and the wife of former running back Fred Lane is charged in his death.
And here's the short-story of all three:
STEVE SMITH VS. HIS TEAMMATES
Let’s get this out of the way first: Steve Smith beat the crap out of three of his teammates. In 2002 he got in a fight with fellow receiver Guilian Gary. Later that same year, he broke the nose of another receiver, Anthony Bright, during a film session. He was charged with assault for that altercation. Five years later, he again broke a teammate’s nose; this time it was cornerback Ken Lucas.
The account of the Bright fight is pretty horrifying, with reports suggesting that Smith became enraged with Bright after the practice squad player asked for a play to be shown again, and then jumped him after the lights were turned out during a film session (“all hell broke loose”). Bright wound up suing Smith in 2004, claiming that the fight ruined his NFL career.
Since I’m about to talk about what a badass Steve Smith is for the rest of this post, I feel like it’s only right to point out that he has done some pretty deplorable things during his playing career. He knows this; if you want to see how much these incidents have worn on him, watch the E:60 segment about his violent outbursts.
According to an ESPN The Magazine feature on the incident, it sounds like Lucas and Smith had been going at each other in practices when Smith snapped. And the aftermath of that incident has been kind of fascinating. For as disturbing as the fight was, their public and private reconciliation served as a catalyst for the team that season, which the Panthers finished with a 12-4 record. When Smith caught his first touchdown that season, following the fight, he ran over to Lucas and presented him with the ball. Lucas said after the game, “Since day one, since the moment it happened, he has done everything that a man could ever do from a forgiveness standpoint … My hat is off to him. I’m surprised, but I’m not surprised.”
https://grantland.com/the-triangle/steve...the-world/