Davante Adams, Raiders, Chiefs sued over 2022 postgame shoving incident
A 20-year-old college student pushed to the ground by the Raiders' Davante Adams after a 2022 "Monday Night Football" game has filed a civil lawsuit.
A 20-year-old college student who was pushed to the ground by Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams after a "Monday Night Football" game against the Kansas City Chiefs last October has filed a civil lawsuit against Adams, both teams and two companies overseeing security operations at the Chiefs’ home stadium.
Park Zebley, a University of Missouri-Kansas City student working for a local production company contracted by ESPN to cover the game, was forcibly pushed by Adams immediately after the Chiefs’ 30-29 win over the Raiders on Oct. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium. Adams pushed Zebley as he crossed into Adams’ path into a stadium tunnel, and Adams briefly stopped to stare at Zebley while he was on the ground.
The lawsuit, filed on May 2 in Jackson County Circuit Court in Missouri and obtained by Paste BN Sports, says Zebley was diagnosed with concussion symptoms, feared for his life and suffered harm after the incident went viral online.
“I’m looking for justice,” Zebley said in a statement through his attorney. “You can’t shove someone down and walk off like it didn’t happen. Not in real life.”
Adams was also charged with one count of misdemeanor assault in Kansas City municipal court following the incident, with an appearance scheduled for June 26. But Zebley believes that charge is not sufficient.
“He’s looking for compensation. He feels he was bullied, and he wants to stand up for himself,” Zebley’s attorney, Dan Curry, told USA Today Sports on Friday.
The personal injury lawsuit alleges battery by Adams, liability by the Raiders as his employer and negligence by the Chiefs, Jackson County Sports Complex Authority and Landmark Events Staffing, who all provide security for events at Arrowhead Stadium.
Curry said Zebley temporarily moved from his residence out of fear from the hateful comments he saw online in the aftermath of the incident.
“I think generally there was really maybe two categories: One was what people would say in the comments section in all of this exploding media on it, and a lot of it was hateful and directed toward him. There were others specifically targeting him once they found his contact information, and I think that was a little more disturbing for him,” Curry said.
Adams apologized during an interview in the locker room after the game. He also wrote in a since-deleted post on Twitter: “Sorry to the guy I pushed over after the game. Obviously very frustrated at the way the game ended and when he ran in front of me as I exited that was my reaction and I felt horrible immediately. That’s not me. MY APOLOGIES man hope you see this.”
Adams was not disciplined by the NFL for his actions. The NFL declined comment regarding the lawsuit when reached by Paste BN Sports on Friday.
Curry said he is hopeful to resolve the lawsuit but would welcome a jury trial on behalf of his client. A case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 23.
“Everybody is hopeful, my client too, that things will get resolved one way or another. The jury is the resolution of last resort. We welcome a trial,” Curry said. “But if we can get all parties happy prior to that, that’s what we’ll do. Right now, we’re getting ready for a trial.”