Former Arizona Cardinals safety Chris Clemons will serve jail time for an assault on a woman in the parking lot of a nightclub in 2016.
The Arizona Republic noted that the athlete and his companion got into an altercation with the woman outside of the International Boutique Nightclub in Scottsdale. According to the police report, the 25-year-old victim was knocked unconscious , however, witness accounts of exactly what occurred differed.
When law enforcement officials arrived at the scene, they found the woman bleeding from her nose and mouth. She told officers that Clemons had punched her with a closed fist after she and a woman he was with got into an argument. The victim admitted that she and the other female were involved in a physical fight but that after it was broken up, Clemons hit her. She alleged that once the two were separated, “a fist coming from the right” struck her in the middle of her face. She accused Clemons of throwing the punch because he was the only person standing next to her when it happened.
Police said the victim was unsteady and being helped by a friend who claimed to have witnessed the entire thing and collaborated the story saying that Clemons did strike her.
Clemons, though, denied ever hitting the woman. Former Cards player, Brandon Person, was present that night and also told police that Clemons did not punch the victim. They agreed that they thought the woman’s bloodied face was the result of the fight she had with the other woman.
TMZ Sports reported that prosecutors didn’t buy that and found Clemons guilty of misdemeanor assault intentionally causing physical injury. He will now spend five days behind bars.
The 31-year-old was initially looking at six months in jail, but a judge sentenced him to 10 days with five of those days suspended. Also, he’s been fined $30,000 and must enter an anger management program.
As for his football career, that could very well be over following this conviction. He was released by the Cardinals last season and is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Miami Dolphins where he spent five years.
[Featured Image by AP Photo]