Fox had no choice but to fire Mark Sanchez after his violent brawl with a truck driver as keeping him on would have sent the ‘wrong message’ to other employees, an insider has claimed.
Sanchez has officially been dismissed by Fox Sports one month on from his near-fatal altercation with driver Perry Tole, 69, in Indianapolis, which briefly left both parties hospitalized with severe wounds.
The former NFL quarterback, who had been in Indianapolis to call the Colts’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders for the network, is now awaiting trial for a felony battery charge, along with several misdemeanor charges.
A month on from the October 4 incident, he has called his final game for Fox after being fired. The Daily Mail has reached out to Fox Sports for confirmation.
And according to a network insider, it was the only decision they could have made.
‘We knew it had to happen. So many people get fired around here, if they had kept him on, that would have sent a message to us that we aren’t as important as him,’ the source told the Daily Mail.
Mark Sanchez has officially been fired by Fox Sports a month on from his arrest
Sanchez awaits trial for battery following his involvement in a brawl with a truck driver
‘It would have sent the wrong message. Also we haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since it happened, so we knew what was up.
‘He had to go. I don’t think anyone is cheering exactly, but we are like “yeah, this was the right call.” And we move on.’
Sanchez’s dismissal came less than an hour after Fox Sports confirmed that Drew Brees would be joining the network as an NFL analyst.
The former Super Bowl winner is set to make his debut during the NFL’s Week 11 action on November 16.
Brees, a former NFL quarterback himself, will partner up with play-by-play announcer Adam Amin.
Amin’s previous partner in the commentary booth was Sanchez, who has not been on the air since the shocking events of last month.
Sanchez was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds to his upper right torso, according to a police affidavit.
A police affidavit alleges that Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel’s loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on October 4.
Perry Tole, a grease truck driver, is seen lying in a hospital bed, covered in blood with a huge gash on his face and a brace around his neck
Sanchez, with wife Perry Mattfield, appears to have called his final NFL game
Tole claims in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray.
When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.
A picture of Tole that circulated online following the incident showed him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.
The trucker, who has claimed self-defense and has not been charged, is also suing Sanchez and Fox Sports for unspecified damages.
On October 12, Sanchez was briefly booked in Indianapolis having left hospital. His mugshot was taken and as he left the jail, spoke briefly with a reporter.
A trial date has been scheduled for December 11. At a preliminary hearing on October 22, Sanchez was not present due to his ongoing recovery, his defense attorney said.
