A 69-year-old truck driver who was seriously injured in a fight that prosecutors say was started by former NFL quarterback and sports analyst Mark Sanchez is suing Sanchez and his employer, Fox Corporation, in Indiana state court.
Lawyers for Perry Tole filed the lawsuit Monday seeking an unspecified amount in actual and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees. The lawsuit accuses Sanchez of instigating a fight with Tole Saturday night outside a downtown Indianapolis hotel, leading to “severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function” and other injuries and emotional distress.
Tole also stabbed Sanchez several times in the fight, according to police. A picture of Tole circulating online shows him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.
In an email, Fox Sports declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorneys representing Sanchez in his criminal case also declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Attorneys representing Tole in the lawsuit, which requested a jury trial, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Sanchez is facing a felony battery charge, along with several misdemeanor charges, for what prosecutors said Monday was a fight over parking.
“We are literally talking about people fighting over a parking space and-or a dispute about where people are parking, and it resulted in someone receiving just incredibly significant injures,” Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said at a news conference Monday.
A police affidavit says the 38-year-old Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis. Tole’s lawsuit said Sanchez entered Tole’s truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray.
When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.
Sanchez was hospitalized with stab wounds to his upper right torso, according to a police affidavit.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis for Fox’s coverage of Sunday’s game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Sanchez had a 10-year NFL career before retiring in 2019. He spent four seasons with the New York Jets and also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington.
He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.