SuperBowl Sunday isn’t shaping up as planned for Warren Sapp. The former NFL star was scheduled to provide on-air analysis for the NFL Network’s coverage of SuperBowl XLIV, but he has been yanked from the lineup after being arrested for an incident of domestic violence that allegedly occurred early Saturday morning. Sapp has been charged with domestic battery in South Florida, and the analyst will not be part of the NFL Network’s Super Bowl coverage on Sunday. Sapp was charged with one count of misdemeanor domestic battery and is expected to appear before a Miami-Dade County judge Sunday. The domestic violence allegation was reported around noon Saturday and detectives interviewed Sapp later that day. The alleged physical altercation against a female acquaintance took place at 6 a.m. Saturday at the Shore Club Hotel, where Sapp was staying. The victim had a swollen knee and bruises on her neck, according to an arrest affidavit. She told detectives that she was partying with Sapp and her friends at the hotel and asked for his room key when she grew tired. Sapp reportedly woke up the victim a few hours later and they started to argue. She told investigators that Sapp started to choke her and pushed her down on a couch. As the argument escalated, Sapp grabbed the woman by her shirt and neck and threw her down again. Sapp told investigators that he let the woman stay in his room but asked her to leave a few hours later, and that the woman fell on her leg when he tried to help her get off a couch. Regardless of whether former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp is guilty or innocent of charges that he battered a female acquaintance on Friday night, Sapp has apologized, through his lawyer, for the distraction that the incident created. “He sincerely apologizes to the NFL family and fans for taking away any distraction from today’s big game,” Christopher Lyons said. “We ask that everyone reserve judgment on the matter until all the facts come out in a court of law.” There is at least one report that the allegations against Sapp, who played for the Buccaneers and Raiders and currently works for NFL Network, are false. Sapp was released on $1,500 bond earlier today.

Go Back to Previous Page