COLUMBUS, Ga. — A National Arena League football player is accused of firing a gun in an arena parking lot as players confronted each other after a game in Columbus, Georgia. Florida’s Jacksonville Sharks said in a statement there was an “altercation” between Sharks and Columbus Lions players outside the Columbus Civic Center Saturday night.
Muscogee County Jail records show that Sharks defensive end Leon Mackey faces charges of discharging a gun near a highway; and reckless conduct causing harm/endangering safety.
Columbus police didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
According to the team’s statement, “Mr. Mackey has been suspended by the National Arena League pending the outcome of the police investigation.”
The team added, “The Sharks organization and the National Arena League do not condone or approve of Mr. Mackey’s decision to utilize or carry a weapon during a team function, but do believe Mr. Mackey has a right to due process and is innocent until convicted of any charge.”
CBS affiliate WJAX-TV writes that the Sharks had lost to the Columbus Lions 41-51, dropping their record to 1-2. The station reports that after Mackey was taken in to custody, he said “it was an accident” and that the other team had been talking down to him.
Mackey, who played at Texas Tech, participated in the Minnesota Vikings training camp in 2015. The Sharks say he went to high school in Wilmington, Delaware.
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