Spinnable Sports Your Sports, Our Spin
For the first time ever, the NFL held its Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. A city with a reputation for having a good time, but one that also presents plenty of opportunities for players to find themselves in unfortunate circumstances. Kamara found that out firsthand, as he was involved in an altercation while leaving a popular nightclub.
The league has only recently allowed the city of Las Vegas the rights to have a team, when Mark Davis was given approval to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas a few seasons ago. At the time, much concern was geared towards gambling, and the potential for games being artificially influenced by gamblers.
In addition to the fears of game fixing, Vegas also boasts plenty of options and opportunities to have a good time, and/or find yourself in unsavory situations. Trouble is never hard to find in the city of sin.
The Details We Know
Considering that the public has not yet obtained access to view any of the alleged security footage, at this time all we can go by is what Las Vegas police are saying. Based on conversations with both Kamara and the victim, the police have concluded that the video evidence supports the victim’s side of the story.
So What Actually Happened?
According to the victim, he was amongst a large group of people waiting for an elevator. Upon trying to enter the elevator once it arrived, a man later identified as Kamara allegedly put his had on the man’s chest to prevent him from entering the elevator.
The victim claims he then pushed Kamara’s hand off his chest, so he could continue attempting to get on the elevator. In response, Kamara allegedly shoved the victim hard enough to cause the victim to stumble backwards. It was at this time the victim says the assault ensued.
Kamara Did Not Throw the First Punch, But He Did Throw 8
According to police, Kamara did not throw the first punch, but rather someone in his party did. However, video evidence allegedly confirms Kamara quickly joined in on the action, punching the victim repeatedly. It is being reported that Kamara threw 8 punches in total, 3 of which came after the victim had already collapsed to the ground.
Once on the ground, Karama’s crew swarmed in to stomp the victim repeatedly in the face, chest and stomach areas. In the end, the victim was left with multiple injuries, most notably a fractured orbital bone in his face.
That’s the Best Excuse You Could Come Up With?
When questioned by police regarding his side of the story, Kamara stated that while waiting for the elevator the victim called someone in Kamara’s party “ugly” which is apparently enough to justify an all out assault in Kamara’s mind?
Do people in these situations not think about things before they say them? I mean come on, someone called your friend ugly so you and your friends assault the man punching and stomping him repeatedly to the point of breaking his face? Seems like a bit of an overreaction to me.
Typically when someone offers an excuse as to why something happened, often the excuse will at least provide some logical explanation to the actions that took place. In the case of Alvin Kamara, his “he called my friend ugly” excuse makes him look so much worse.
What He Should Have Said
Why not just admit fault and apologize in order to minimize the situation? It’s Vegas, there are cameras everywhere. Just say the situation occurred after a long night out, and my response in that moment was not favorable by any means and I apologize for even allowing myself to be in that situation in the first place.
Instead Kamara and his crew come off as immature and childish, with name-calling such as “ugly” being enough to trigger a physical altercation. Perhaps the victim did call someone in the group “ugly” but even if that is true, I’m still not sure how that is supposed to justify or explain the outcome.
The Not So Bright Future Ahead
Given the current circumstances, Kamara is likely to face some sort of legal ramifications as a result of the recent incident. It is being reported that Kamara could face up to 5 years in prison for his involvement in this altercation.
Given what we know about how these things usually go, it seems incredibly unlikely Kamara will be given the maximum punishment. Instead be will likely reach a settlement with the victim for an undisclosed amount of money, and will do some community service and/or will pay fines.
Perhaps the NFL will step in and punish him on top of that. Regardless of the current legal trouble, Kamara’s on field career faces many questions as well. The New Orleans Saints are without their famed offensive guru head coach Sean Payton, Drew Brees is retired, and the team is $70+ million over the cap.
All of this, combined with the recent legal troubles mean that it is very likely that we have seen the best of Kamara on the field. I hope that is not the case, as I do enjoy watching him play. I also hope that he is able to learn from this and is able to avoid similar situations in the future.
