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Jacksonville Jaguars Players Arrested In London After Allegedly Refusing To Pay $64k Bar Tab
NFL players Barry Church, D.J. Hayden, Ronnie Harrison, and Jarrod Wilson were briefly detained after refusing to pay a hefty nightclub bill, with the group insisting the expensive liquor was supposed to be complimentary.
Four football players were arrested in London, England over the weekend after allegedly attempting to skip out on a bar tab of more than $60k.
NFL players Barry Church, D.J. Hayden, Ronnie Harrison, and Jarrod Wilson, all of whom are members of the Jacksonville Jaguars team, were detained early Saturday morning after reportedly trying to leave the London Reign Nightclub in Piccadilly without paying a $64k bill, according to People.
Police reported being called to the club to investigate reports of a fight, which was said to have broken out in response to the billing issue some time before 4 in the morning. During the men’s night out at the club, they were sent expensive bottles of liquor that they initially believed were given to them on a complimentary basis, according to NFL.com’s sources. The argument ensued when the men received the bill and found that the bottles were not actually free; they then refused to pay, NFL.com reports.
“Four men aged in their 20s were subsequently arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and taken to a central London police station for questioning. They were all subsequently released with no further action,” reads a statement from police obtained by People.
The large bill has since been settled, NFL.com reports. The Jackson Jaguars are expected to handle disciplinary matters privately, according to a statement from the team.
“We are aware that four of our players were detained over restitution of a bill,” the statement reads. “The matter is being resolved and the players are with the team. Any discipline will be handled internally.”
Five additional players — Telvin Smith, Myles Jack, Leon Jacobs, Dante Fowler, and TJ Yeldon — were also present at the club at the time of incident, but were not detained, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The team was in the U.K. to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley Stadium on Sunday; they lost 18-24. Following the game, which marked their fourth consecutive loss, Church addressed the incident, ESPN reports.
“There was definitely a misunderstanding, but as far as my actions are concerned, I take full responsibility,” Church reportedly said. “I don’t want to be a distraction or anything like that to my team and my teammates, but we handled it as a private matter within the team and we’ll just go from there.”
[Photo: Getty Images]
