A San Diego Chargers player said he wasn't involved in a fight in Pacific Beach that ended with a man in a medically induced coma.
The fight took place near a popular Pacific Beach bar called Bar West. When it was over, the victim, a man in his 20s, was laying in the middle of the street. A witness called police and reported that San Diego Chargers player Legedu Naanee was among the suspects. However, police investigators said there are conflicting reports about who was there and the involvement of those people.
The Chargers issued a statement from Naanee via e-mail late on Monday, stating, "I was not involved in, nor did I witness a fight or altercation of any kind."
Outside Chargers camp Monday, Naanee said, "I don't know how my name came up."
Officers arrived at about 2:15 a.m. at a parking lot near at Cass and Hornblend streets after receiving reports of a large fight involving several men.
"The man didn’t regain consciousness the entire time officers were with him and he was transported to the hospital by paramedics," said San Diego Lt. Todd Jarvis.
The victim has not been identified.
San Diego police investigators said on Monday that they have talked to the San Diego Chargers and told the team that they would like to talk with one Chargers player. They said that they hoped to interview that player Tuesday.
At the Chargers routine Monday news conference, Chargers head coach Norv Turner was asked about the allegations surrounding Naanee. Turner said he was aware of the reports but could not discuss the issue.
"I have heard about it probably like you have. I have no information," Turner said. "As soon as we have information about it we’ll have a comment."
"I don’t know anything about it; I hadn't heard about it," Chargers QB Philip Rivers said when asked about the allegations. "I'd be out of line to comment on it."
"Certainly it's important to us, and we all know how important it is, to stay out of trouble and do the right thing," he said. "It would be unfortunate, whatever does come out, if it is indeed something major, but hopefully everything will be alright."
