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Maurice Jones-Drew fight: Security guard attorney releases statement

By Alfie Crow@AlfieBCC May 30, 2013, 3:09pm EDT

The Maurice Jones-Drew situation does not appear to be going away anytime soon, despite the fact that Jones-Drew's agent claims his client didn't throw the punch. The attorney for Kasim Howard, the security guard Jones-Drew allegedly punched, has issued an official statement on the situation:

"This past Sunday, May 26 during Reggae Sunday at the Conch House Marina Resort, Jacksonville Jaguars [player] Maurice Jones-Drew viciously attacked and severely injured Conch House's security officer, Kasim Howard, 31, of St. Augustine. At the time Mr. Jones-Drew attacked him, Mr. Howard was attempting to protect several female patrons from harassment by members of Mr. Jones-Drew's entourage. Prior to the attack, Mr. Howard never saw, spoke with, let alone confronted Mr. Jones-Drew. Conch House security video captures Mr. Jones-Drew rapidly approaching Mr. Howard from the back-left side and sucker punching him in the jaw. As a result of this attack, Mr. Howard suffered a dislocated jaw and spinal injuries. He was hospitalized, later released and is recovering at home."

The video of the incident surprisingly hasn't become public yet and miraculously no one at the Conch House captured the situation on their cell phones.

Continuing with the release from Gregory Anderson, the security guards attorney, scolds Jones-Drew's camp for trying to diffuse the situation as much ado about nothing:

"The current attempts by some to characterize this as a ‘scuffle' are misleading and unsupported by any evidence. Any fair-minded person watching the video has to conclude that Mr. Jones-Drew initiated an unprovoked attack on Mr. Howard and then literally ran away from the scene. The videos, in addition to virtually all eyewitness accounts, unequivocally prove that Mr. Jones-Drew attacked the security officer without provocation. We are evaluating the remedies available to Mr. Howard, who conducted himself professionally. Mr. Jones-Drew's conduct was deplorable and certainly unbecoming a professional athlete. Those attempting to sanitize this incident are either uninformed or motivated by reasons other than justice."

(h/t Ryan O'Halloran)

Jones-Drew has yet to be charged with anything, but if there is indeed video evidence of the event taking place that shows Jones-Drew "sucker punching" the security guard, there will need to be a lot of back tracking done by the Jaguars running back and his representation, as they definitively claimed he was not involved and left the premises as soon as the scuffle began.

The charge of misdemeanor battery, which is what Jones-Drew could be facing if it proceeds forward, carries a maximum term of one-year in prison if convicted and fines up to $1,000.