Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t the only member of the Steelers currently facing challenges via the legal system.
Receiver Santonio Holmes, the MVP of Super Bowl XLIII, faces a civil lawsuit for assault and battery.
According to CourtHouseNews.com, the suit was filed on March 24, 2010 for an incident occurring only two weeks earlier in Orlando.
Specifically, the incident occurred on March 7 — only two days after Roethlisberger’s latest misadventures. And this possibly proves once again that players learn nothing from the misadventures of their colleagues.
The civil complaint contends that Holmes confronted plaintiff Anshonoe Mills after she refused to leave the arm of a couch in the VIP area of the Rain nightclub. Holmes allegedly “put his hand” in Mills’ face while attempting to remove her from the couch. Holmes then allegedly “threw his entire glass cup of liquor” at Mills’ face, allegedly causing a laceration below her eyebrow and “blinding her temporarily.”
She claims that, outside the club, she asked a police office to “reprimand” Holmes for his conduct. The complaint then alleges that “he” (it’s unclear whether the pronoun refers to the officer or Holmes) “proceeded to inform the plaintiff that he was an NFL football player and that he could not face criminal charges.” Mills also alleges that Holmes then “offered to give [her] money because he was a [sic] NFL star and could not get into trouble.”
Mills claims that she “felt pressure from [Holmes] and the Orlando Police Department not to press chargers,” and that while under said pressure he made “a short victim statement incoherently stating that she was hit in the face and bleeding near her eyes, however, intended not to press charges.” She claims that the Orlando Police Department failed to write a police report.
Holmes faces claims of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The owner of the club at which the incident occurred also faces a claim for negligent failure to provide adequate protection. (Hopefully, the security tapes haven’t been covered up with new footage.) Mills seeks unspecified damages in excess of the jurisdictional minimum of $15,000.
Stay tuned for more.
UPDATE: I’ve spoken with attorney Jacques Cooper, who has confirmed that he represents Mills and that the action was filed last week. He said that he has a copy of the “short victim statement,” and he asked me to call him back this afternoon to discuss the situation in further detail because, as he explained it, he is in Jacksonville preparing to enter a court hearing.