Dante Fowler has already made headlines for the wrong reasons once this offseason, and the latest incident involving the Jacksonville Jaguars star sounds like it is much more troubling.
According to a police report obtained by Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, Fowler was arrested Tuesday night in his hometown of St. Petersburg on misdemeanor charges of simple battery and criminal mischief. The arrest reportedly stemmed from a road rage incident in which Fowler hit another man.
Here are some details:
The arrest report said that Fowler was driving in the Trellis at the Lakes apartment complex Tuesday night around 6:30 p.m. when a man walking in the complex made a comment about his driving. Fowler got out of his car, exchanged words with the man, then “hit the man, knocked his glasses off and stepped on them,” according to the report. He then “took the victim’s grocery bag, with recently purchased liquor, and threw it in a lake,” according to the report, which said the victim was not injured.
The Jaguars issued a statement on Wednesday acknowledging that they are aware of the situation:
#Jaguars statement on Dante Fowler Jr. situation. pic.twitter.com/KIkX3ybSE9
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 19, 2017
Fowler, 22, appeared in all 16 games for the Jags last season after he missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL. The former No. 3 overall pick recorded four sacks and 32 combined tackles.
In February 2016, a video that surfaced showed Fowler refereeing a brawl between two women. He later apologized for his role in the fight. Less than a month later, Fowler was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer/EMT and resisting arrest. Those charges were dropped after he completed a pretrial intervention program.
