Former Jets QB Mark Sanchez Stabbed After Reportedly Climbing Into A Random Truck And Harassing The Driver

“May you live in interesting times,” isn’t actually be an ancient Chinese curse like you may have been told, but these days, it does still feel like a curse. However, every now and then, the “interesting times” we’re living in deliver a story so bizarre, it makes you temporarily forget about all the bad things that are also happening. In this case, we’ve got former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, who not only managed to get himself stabbed in Indianapolis on Saturday, but was subsequently arrested while in the hospital recovering from being stabbed, Indiana’s WXIN reports.

Based on what we know so far, the confrontation that led to the stabbing took place at about 12:30 a.m. Footage from surveillance cameras in the area reportedly shows Sanchez “jogging back and forth” in an alley between the Westin Hotel and the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. He then approached a box truck that was backed into a loading dock to collect old grease from the hotel kitchen and told the driver he had to move his truck, claiming he had spoken with the hotel manager. Sanchez continued to tell the driver he had to move and at one point forced his way into the truck.

Confused why some random, well-dressed guy was telling him he couldn’t do the job he’d been hired to do, the truck driver tried calling his boss, only for Sanchez to do his best to stop him. The confrontation eventually turned into a fight when the 38-year-old Sanchez threw the 69-year-old truck driver toward a dumpster and continued attacking him. 

On paper, a former NFL quarterback in his 30s should easily be able to win a fight with a truck driver who’s old enough to already be collecting social security, but clearly, this wasn’t the truck driver’s first rodeo. As the driver told police, he initially tried fending Sanchez off with pepper spray, but that didn’t stop him. The victim claimed he got the “this guy is trying to kill me” feeling and pulled a knife on Sanchez, then stabbed him “several times in self-defense.” 

While most people aren’t usually that grateful after being stabbed, Sanchez probably should be, since he survived. Someone who fears for their life enough to actually stab someone else isn’t usually thinking about making sure the other person survives, and it’s almost a miracle the truck driver didn’t pull out a gun instead. If he had, the police who responded probably would’ve had a dead body to deal with instead of an “uncooperative” assailant in need of immediate medical treatment. 

Sanchez appears to still be recovering from his injuries and is currently facing a Level 5 felony for committing battery that caused serious injury, as well as several misdemeanor charges including public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle. As for his victim, the man’s family has reportedly asked that he stay anonymous due to the altercation receiving national attention, but from the sound of it, his injuries were no joke, either. At some point during the struggle, he was stabbed through his cheek and cut his tongue. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and, based on the information available at this time, sues Sanchez for enough money to retire on. 

Of course, Republican politicians couldn’t be bothered to wait for the facts to come out before trying to pin it on Democrats, with both the governor and lieutenant governor posting tweets that blamed the “lack of public safety” in Indianapolis. As Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears put it in a follow-up statement, “The governor attempted to exploit senseless violence for political gain without knowing any facts. The truth didn’t fit his narrative and he deleted his tweet. Real leadership requires a basic understanding of facts and a desire to do more than just blame others.”

They did eventually delete those tweets but refused to actually apologize, with Indiana governor Mike Braun writing, “If one deleted tweet finally gets Mears to start paying attention to the violent crime epidemic in our capital city, putting violent criminals behind bars, and keeping Indianapolis safe then I will start deleting more tweets?” As usual, though, the violent crime epidemic doesn’t actually exist outside of Republican imaginations, as they scramble to find any excuse to help justify using military force on civilians. 

Even IMPD Chief Chris Bailey refused to back up the governor’s assertion that Indianapolis is experiencing some kind of historic crime wave, telling reporters that in the downtown area, violent crime this year is down 5%, property crime is down 11% and overall crime is down 10%, while violent crime in all of Indianapolis is down 21%. That sure doesn’t sound like a crime epidemic to me, but then again, I’m not a craven bootlicker with no principles or beliefs beyond gaining and holding political power.