TJ Walker (presenter) reviews the parking-lot altercation involving former NFL QB and Fox analyst Mark Sanchez, who prosecutors say (per ESPN and AP) is facing a felony battery charge after a violent dispute in Indianapolis. Walker summarizes that Sanchez (reported as 38) allegedly confronted a 69-year-old truck driver while smelling of alcohol; the fight left Sanchez with stab wounds and the driver with severe facial injuries, and surveillance video exists. The truck driver has filed a civil lawsuit naming Sanchez and Fox. Walker uses the incident to give crisis-communications advice to celebrities—warning about risks of alcohol, public altercations, and visibility—and compares the situation to other celebrity incidents to argue that public figures should avoid driving after drinking and should hire drivers or use Ubers.
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Mark Sanchez faces felony charges after a parking lot altercation. Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez is now facing a felony battery charge after what authorities describe as a violent parking dispute in Indianapolis. According to ESPN and the Associated Press, prosecutors say the 38 year old Sanchez, reportedly smelling of alcohol, confronted a 69 year old truck driver early Saturday morning. The argument escalated into a fight that left both men injured, Sanchez with stab wounds and the driver with severe facial injuries. Indianapolis officials said the situation did not need to occur and that the incident was captured on multiple surveillance cameras. The truck driver has since filed a lawsuit against Sanchez and Fox, believe it or not, alleging negligence and emotional distress. Sanchez remains hospitalized in stable condition as investigators continue to gather evidence. It's a sad reminder that wealth and fame don't guarantee wisdom or good judgment, especially when alcohol, ego and late night tempers collide. Okay, what's the real message here for Mark Sedges? Take a page out of Entourage. Have someone else do the driving for you next time. Look, you're rich, you're famous, you're known by everyone. You don't need to be out driving at night after a couple of these. Get a driver, get an Uber. You can afford it. Okay, let's dig a little deeper here. So I'm trying to look at this from a crisis communication standpoint and so we can all learn from that. Mark Sanchez has a lot to lose. And when you're famous and you're making tons and tons of money because of your fame, first as a football player and now as a Fox TV commentator and sports commentator, you need to realize that you're in the spotlight all the time. And these days with recording camera, with surveillance cameras, security cameras everywhere, everything you do is going to be seen again and again and again by a judge, by a jury, by the public, by tmz. So you got to take this seriously. Now look, I'm not holier than thou. Have I ever been out late at night? Yeah. Not a long time. Have I ever had a drink or two? Yeah. Have I ever gotten angry with someone taking a parking space? Yeah. But I'm not Mark Sanchez. I'm not instantly recognizable. I'm not famous. And with that fame, you get a lot of perks, you get a lot of money, a lot of social benefits from being that famous. There are some costs too. And the costs are you can't just get out of your car and one in the morning drunk and start throwing fist at a 69 year old man. When you are a 38 year old former professional football player, six foot two, more than 200 pounds. It's just not going to seem like a fair fight. It's not going to seem like a legitimate fight, anyone. And Mark Sanchez should be. He should have enough wisdom and maturity to realize that sometimes you got to say, okay, I hate that person for taking my parking space, but it's just not worth it. And I'm going to drive on. Because here's the problem. Once something like this gets out, the local officials are in a real dilemma. They're like, if we don't press charges, people are going to say we are playing favorites with famous, rich celebrities. So they might vote us out of office if we're the sheriff who runs locally. And they're also saying, wow, this guy's not a local. No one's going to be offended by us filing charges against him. And we'll look tough on crime. Will look like we're really holding everyone accountable, which they should want, that we're going to be standing up for our local people. They should be doing that. And they know they're going to get their 15 minutes of fame. They're going to get a lot of local and national, even international news coverage when they announce charges, especially felony charges against someone this famous and well known. So this is not a unique situation. As soon as I saw this, I immediately think of Justin Timberlake, who didn't get into a fist fight with anyone but Justin Timberlake just a few years ago, out in the Hamptons late at night, too many drinks, driving in his fancy new, I believe it was a Porsche BMW and getting pulled over. It's happened to Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Hart, reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon. DUI's reckless driving charges. Folks, if you're going to be a rich celebrity, good for you. Get an Uber. Get an Uber Black. Get something that. Hire your own driver. And what's wrong with having your entourage? Now, that show is not aged very well, but the basic concept of the star. Vinnie didn't do the driving ever. He had his older brother or some flunky doing the driving. That's what you should do if you're a star, because there's no such thing as you going back to being a regular person. And if you get a dui, nobody knows. Everybody's going to know. And there can be repercussions. Now, not suggesting that because Justin Timberlake got a dui, his career was over. Most people don't even remember it, but these things can escalate. You have too many drinks, you stop a little Bit of an altercation, words are exchanged and before you know it, fist. Someone has a knife sometimes someone might have. It escalates and it can be a career defining and a career ending moment. Now, I don't know how Fox is going to treat him. He's not Tom Brady, he's not a superstar at that level. And I can't imagine that Fox is very happy about this lawsuit because the 69 year old man, I don't mean to laugh at his plight, but it's a bit of a stretch. He's saying that according to press reports in the Associated Press and ESPN that he is suing Fox Sports because they should have essentially known that he was not a stable person and prone to something like this. That it was negligent of them letting him fly there. That's a bit of a stretch, but let's face it, Fox is a deep pockets, lots of money at Fox. So it does make sense from a legal strategy standpoint. It also gets a lot more attention. Look, if you're not famous, I don't want you out driving drunk or picking fights or getting a knife. I really don't. But especially if you're in a certain, you've got to be aware that all eyes will be on you. Everything is recorded. And if from any perspective you look like the bad guy or Reese Witherspoon the bad woman, that's what people are going to think of, that's what people are going to latch on to in the media. And it could cascade. Sometimes these things blow over. Nobody remembers it, but sometimes it ends careers. So think about what you do. I think of the late, great Pee Wee Herman. One incident in a movie theater he thought no one could see. But unfortunately that essentially ended a brilliant career. Yes, I know he did come back and do other things later, but took a good bite out of his career. 20 years out of his career. So celebrities, you're going to have to spend more time at home in your own compound. You need some protection with an entourage. And my rule of thumb would be if you're well known at all and you want even a half a glass of wine, just don't drive. Somebody sees you leaving a restaurant and you've had half a glass of wine and then they run into you, you're completely blameless. Someone's going to report to the media, oh, I saw that guy drinking and now he's going to crash. He was clearly drunk. It's going to spread. The rumor will spread. So get a driver. Really, you can afford it if you are a celebr.
