The attorney representing the Detroit Lions fan involved in the December altercation with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver DK Metcalf brushed aside the decision by a prosecutor to decline to press charges.
Jon Marko of Detroit-based Marko Law said last week’s announcement by the Wayne County prosecutor’s office that it is denying a warrant request for criminal charges does not change the plans of Marko and Lions season-ticket holder Ryan Kennedy to pursue a civil case against Metcalf.
“The prosecutor’s decision in this case has no effect on the civil case,” Marko write in a text message to TribLive. “Everyone can see exactly what happened from the video evidence. We look forward to getting Mr. Kennedy justice through the civil case.”
Kennedy acknowledges getting the attention of Metcalf while Kennedy stood along the railing behind the Steelers bench during the first half of a Dec. 21 game between the Steelers and Lions at Ford Field.
CBS cameras caught Metcalf reach into the stands and grab Kennedy, 45, by his shirt collar and then shove him upward.
The NFL suspended Metcalf two games for the incident and found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Kennedy. Metcalf has not spoken publicly about the incident but some former NFL players have — indicating they’d heard from Metcalf — that Kennedy used inappropriate language to incite him.
That resulted in a $100 million defamation lawsuit filed on behalf of Kennedy — one to which Metcalf has filed a counterclaim. Marko made it clear Kennedy’s civil case remains going forward.
“The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office makes criminal charging decisions on a variety of factors, some of which are unrelated to whether a crime is committed,” Marko said, “and the reality is they have limited resources and can’t prosecute every crime. This case involved misdemeanor assault, a high profile figure who lives out of state, and would take a tremendous amount of resources to prosecute that would be diverted from homicides and other felonies in Detroit so we aren’t surprised that the prosecutor’s office had to make hard decisions with the resources available to it.”
In the Friday announcement that no criminal charges would be filed, Wayne County prosecuting attorney Kym Worthy cited in part that Kennedy was not injured by Metcalf’s actions. It stated that several people were interviewed in regards to the incident.
Notably, a statement released on behalf of the firm representing Metcalf — Mitch Schuster of Meister Seelig & Schuster — referenced “Mr. Kennedy’s hate-fueled conduct.”
Kennedy held a Dec. 26 news conference to vehemently deny he used any hateful language and implored Metcalf to clear his name.
“Kennedy suffered physical injury, pain, emotional distress, fear, humiliation and public embarrassment,” Marko wrote in filing Kennedy’s lawsuit against Metcalf.