New Orleans Saints rusher Alvin Kamara and Indianapolis Colts cornerback Chris Lammons were issued three-game suspensions Friday by the NFL for their roles in a 2022 Las Vegas nightclub fight.
The bans for personal conduct policy violations will keep each player out for his team’s first three games of the upcoming regular season.
Lammons and Kamara are eligible for all pre-season games and workouts.
Kamara will miss Saints games against Tennessee, Carolina and Green Bay before being allowed back on September 25 ahead of a home game against Tampa Bay.
Lammons will miss Colts games against Jacksonville, Houston and Baltimore before returning on September 25 ahead of a home game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Kamara pleaded innocent in March to charges of misdemeanor conspiracy to commit battery and felony battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.
He and three others, including Lammons, faced charges for allegedly punching and kicking victim Darrell Greene outside a Las Vegas nightclub during the weekend of the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl game, in which Kamara played.
Police said a video supported Greene’s claims that he was punched by Lammons and kicked by multiple people, resulting in a broken right orbital bone.
Greene filed a civil lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Kamara pleaded no contest last month to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace and was ordered to serve 30 hours of community service and pay Greene $105,000 for medical expenses as well as a $500 fine.
The plea enabled Kamara, 27, to escape a possible felony battery charge that could have sent him behind bars for five years.
Kamara met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday in New York to discuss the incident and made an apology Friday in his first public comments about the incident.
“Poor judgement on my end,” Kamara said. “Definitely a bad decision.
“I was completely wrong. I embarrassed the Saints, I embarrassed my family and my mother. I embarrassed myself, embarrassed the city, and the shield, obviously, embarrassed the NFL.”
Kamara, entering his seventh NFL campaign, has 5,135 rushing yards, 8,888 total yards from scrimmage and 72 touchdowns in his career.
The Saints are 3-7 in games without Kamara since he debuted. He will miss at least one contest for a sixth consecutive season.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tough. I’ve lost a lot throughout this ordeal,” Kamara said. “Definitely not looking for any pity, not looking for somebody to give me a pat on the back and say it’s OK.
“I know what I did, I know what I was involved in and I definitely take responsibility. That’s part of being a man and growing. From here, I’ve just got to make the right decisions and make the right choices.”
