Just as the Baton Rouge Police Department came out with a report earlier today in which a witness to the alleged LSU bar brawl claimed Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson kicked a victim in the face, another account of the situation from witnesses tells a different story.
Only slightly, though.
According to the Associated Press, two employees of Shady’s Bar -- general manager John Peak and door manager Jordan Neldare -- have stated that one of the four victims in the fight threw the first punch to start the altercation.
From the report:
Both bar employees said Andrew Lowery, who has been identified by police as one of the victims, was asked to leave the bar around 1:30 a.m. last Friday when he appeared to be harassing a young woman.
Lowery did not challenge Neldare and two other staff members who confronted him, but within minutes of walking into the parking lot, he was in the midst of the fight, the bar employees said.
“What we do know is that Lowery threw the first punch,” said Peak, who has interviewed staff about what happened. “That’s one thing we do know and we will attest to — and he had been kicked out of the bar.”
...
Neldare said he ran to the co-worker and corralled him away from the brawl, back toward the bar entrance, where he then noticed Jefferson, standing by himself and looking upset while the fight was still taking place.
“I’m not saying (Jefferson) wasn’t in the fight. I’m not saying he was, but I did see him standing alone while stuff was still going on,” Neldare said.
Earlier testimonies to police from witness Victoria Long and victim Andrew Lowery stated that Lowery was beaten -- and allegedly kicked in the face by Jefferson -- after Lowery tried to break up a fight that began when multiple LSU players pulled another victim from a black pickup truck.
All four LSU players suspected to be involved -- Jefferson, offensive tackle Chris Davenport, linebacker Josh Johns and wide receiver Jarvis Landry -- were interviewed by police earlier this week. Additionally, Jefferson’s apartment was searched by police yesterday. BRPD confiscated nearly 50 pairs of shoes from Jefferson, likely to be used in any connective evidence.
But even if the brawl was started by one of the victims, it may not help Jefferson’s case if the kicking incident turns out to be true.
As you can tell by the back-and-forth testimonies, this story still has a lot of details to be uncovered. Stay tuned.
