Two-time NFL All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara has been suspended and will miss the first three games of the 2023 NFL season, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday.
The New Orleans Saints’ star rusher received the punishment Friday for his role in a February 2022 assault case in Las Vegas. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Chris Lammons, who was also involved in the incident, received a three-game suspension, as well, Schefter reported.
Kamara and three other men were charged with conspiracy to commit battery and a felony charge of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm the night before the NFL Pro Bowl. The incident allegedly took place at a local nightclub and video surveillance captured Kamara punching a man approximately eight times.
Kamara resolved the battery arrest last month when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace. He was ordered to serve 30 hours of community service, had to pay over $100,000 in restitution to the victim for past medical expenses and received a $500 fine. The plea deal kept him from a potential felony battery charge, which would have carried a maximum five-year sentence.
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The 28-year-old met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York earlier this week to discuss the incident. He then addressed the situation publicly for the first time on Friday.
Kamara, who the Saints drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, has finished with more than 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards in each of his six seasons in the league.
NFL
The 2017 NFL Rookie of the Year has never eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground in a season but has led the league in rushing touchdowns with 16 (in 2020) and yards per carry with 6.1 (in 2017).
The Saints will lean on former Detroit Lions RB Jamaal Williams and rookie RB Kendre Miller through the first three weeks of the regular season. Williams led the league in rushing touchdowns with 17 last season, while Miller was a key member (1,515 scrimmage yards) of TCU’s high-powered offense that made it to the national championship game.
New Orleans opens the regular season at home against the Tennessee Titans before traveling to Carolina in Week 2 and Green Bay in Week 3. Kamara will be eligible to return for the Saints’ Week 4 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
