A police affidavit says the 38-year-old Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted 69-year-old Perry Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel's loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on Oct. 4. Tole claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray. When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.
Tole also stabbed Sanchez several times in the fight, according to police. A picture of Tole circulating online shows him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face. In an email, Fox Sports declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorneys representing Sanchez in his criminal case also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Perry Tole, 69, filed the lawsuit in Indiana state court on Monday, seeking an unknown amount in damages and attorneys' fees, the Associated Press reported. Mediaite has reached out to the Fox Corporation for comment. Sanchez's attorneys would not comment when reached by the AP. The former New York Jets quarterback has been employed by Fox as an analyst since 2021.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement the arrest came after further investigation and consultation with the prosecutor's office. "Sanchez was arrested at the hospital for battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication, all which are misdemeanors," police said in the statement. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case obtained by Eyewitness News on Sunday, the argument occurred in an alley near The Westin Indianapolis hotel and the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.