Tom GantertLas Vegas, NV – Former National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict was arrested last week for attacking security officers in a casino with some of his friends.
The incident occurred just before midnight Dec. 4 while the 30-year-old Burfict and two other men were looking for a special pizza restaurant inside The Cosmopolitan Resort, Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The Pizzeria, known as “Secret Pizza,” is an intentionally difficult-to-find pizza place inside the hotel that is supposed to seem hidden like a speakeasy during Prohibition.
The police report said that Burfict and his friends allegedly became irate when they couldn’t find the restaurant, the Law Vegas Review-Journal reported.
They were on the escalator when they noticed security behind them and began filming.
The security officers told police the men accused them of following them, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
“What the [expletive] these dudes doing behind us? Look at these clowns following us,” one of the men asked, pointing his phone in the face of Security Officer Christian Anguiano.
When the security officers reached the top of the escalator, Burfict and his friends were there blocking them from getting off the moving staircase as they filmed.
Police said Burfict tried to push Anguiano down the escalator, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
One of the other men in his group took a swing at the other security officer, according to the police report.
Burfict was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery.
Burfict’s bond was set at $1,000 but he was released on his own recognizance, ESPN reported.
He is due in court on Feb. 3, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
In eight seasons in the NFL, Burfict has made $33.4 million in salary.
Burfict, who last played for the Oakland Raiders in 2019, has a history of trouble in the NFL, Sports Illustrated reported.
He was handed a 12-game suspension in 2019 for a helmet-to-helmet hit against Indianapolis Colts’ tight end Jack Doyle.
It was the longest suspension the NFL has ever given for on-field contact violations, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The league said it was due to the linebacker’s repeated violations of unnecessary roughness rules, Sports Illustrated reported.
The Raiders opted to release Burfict at the end of his suspension.
He was given his first suspension by the NFL in 2016 when he was playing for the Cincinnati Bengals for a helmet-to-helmet hit against then Pittsburgh Steeler Antonio Brown in a playoff game.
Brown suffered a concussion from the hit and Burfict was suspended for three games, according to Sports Illustrated.
He was also suspended for three games in 2017 for a hit he put on Kansas City Chief Anthony Sherman.
Burfict played in the Pro Bowl in his second year in the NFL in 2013.
He played college football at Arizona State from 2009 through 2011, Sports Illustrated reported.
Burfict is currently a free agent.
Holly Matkin
