Getty Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams at Arrowhead Stadium in 2022.
The Kansas City Chiefs were named in a lawsuit against Las Vegas Raiders star wide receiver Davante Adams according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
“The photographer that was shoved by Davante Adams following a Week 5 Monday Night Football matchup has filed a lawsuit against the Raiders receiver as well the team and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Missouri court records,” Reed relayed for readers on May 26.
Recapping: “Adams was charged with misdemeanor assault after shoving the cameraman as he walked off the field following Las Vegas’ loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 10. Adams apologized for the incident when he met with the media after the game and later tweeted an apology, but that tweet has since been deleted.”
He also noted that “in addition to Adams, the Chiefs and the Raiders, the suit names the Jackson Sports Complex Authority and Landmark Event Staffing Services as defendants.”
Plaintiff Park Zebley Speaks on Lawsuit Against Davante Adams, Chiefs & Raiders
According to David Hudnall of The Kansas City Star, “Park Zebley alleges in a complaint filed this month in Jackson County Circuit Court that he feared for his life in the immediate aftermath of the alleged assault and was diagnosed with concussion symptoms. Zebley was also targeted online, he says.”
The 20-year-old University of Missouri-Kansas City student was contracted to work as a part of the production crew with ESPN, per Hudnall, and he spoke on the incident in a statement to The KC Star.
“A municipal misdemeanor battery charge is not sufficient,” Zebley told The KC Star. “I’m looking for justice. You can’t shove someone down and walk off like it didn’t happen. Not in real life.”
As for Adams, he was apologetic about his actions prior to the lawsuit being filed.
“I mean, I wouldn’t look at the KC incident as something that – I don’t want to say I didn’t learn from it because that makes it sound like I’m not remorseful and stuff like that — but it was just an instance,” the wideout voiced. “It’s not something that I needed that to happen for me to know that was not the right thing to do. So, it was just something that happened.”
He also tweeted the following after the 2022 game in question: “Sorry to the guy I pushed over after the game. Obviously very frustrated at the way the game ended and when he ran in front of me as I exited that was my reaction and I felt horrible immediately. Thats (sic) not me..MY APOLOGIES man hope you see this.”
As Reed mentioned, that tweet has since been deleted.
Chiefs Don’t Play Raiders Until Week 12 in 2023
The Chiefs-Raiders rivalry has been very one-sided over the last decade or so. Per Football Database, Kansas City has won the past five matchups between the two AFC West franchises, and they’ve gone 10-1 over the past 11.
It gets worse. The Chiefs are actually 15-2 versus Las Vegas going back to 2014.
If the Raiders want to flip the script with Jimmy Garoppolo and Adams in 2023, they’ll have to wait until Week 12. That’s the first matchup between the two sides during the upcoming season, and it’s in Vegas.
Later in the year, the Chiefs and Raiders play on Monday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 16. KC is 9-1 against LVR during the Patrick Mahomes era.