Cardinals player arrested after bathroom incident at hotel
What started as a terrific offseason for the Arizona Cardinals has quickly taken a turn for the worse.
Even after former coach Bruce Arians resigned, there was plenty of good news.
The Cards hired highly regarded Steve Wilks from Carolina.
Then came word that future Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald would indeed return for his 15th season in the desert.
Arizona found its quarterback of the future in April’s NFL draft, when Josh Rosen slipped all the way to 10th.
Nothing but positivity heading into training camp, right?
Until July hit.
General manager Steve Keim was arrested for an extreme DUI on July 4.
Tuesday, the team suspended him for five weeks and docked him $200,000.
Now comes word of another arrest — this time a player — over the weekend.
Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones has been charged with suspicion of assault, as well as disorderly conduct and trespassing — all stemming from an altercation at a Scottsdale hotel.
The Arizona Republic reports that the incident started when Seals-Jones tried to enter the W hotel to use the bathroom.
He was told that the rest rooms are only for hotel guests.
A staff member said the 6-foot-5, 243-pound player “muscled his way in by pushing him back with his elbow to his shoulder and chest.”
The police report then says Seals-Jones pushed the employee “with an open hand to his chest, like being moved by an offensive lineman.”
It adds, “There were never actual closed fist punches ever thrown by anyone, just pushing and shoving.”
The tight end told police that he took a step, and when someone put their hands on him, he did the same.
Seals-Jones caught 12 passes and three touchdowns in his rookie season.
He is the cousin of NFL legend Eric Dickerson.
KTAR-TV in Phoenix ran a statement from the Cardinals organization, saying,”The team is aware of the incident over the weekend involving Ricky Seals-Jones. While the legal process remains on-going, we will refrain from commenting further at this time.”
Cardinals players are scheduled to report to training camp on July 27.
After the past week, surely the team will be glad to get back to actually playing football.
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