Ryan Mathews
A Monday morning report stated that San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews had been arrested for his role in a fight outside a nightclub. However, San Diego police say the report is false. Wikipedia Commons

San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews has reportedly not been arrested for his role in an alleged nightclub altercation, despite a report to the contrary.

A Monday morning report by Examiner.com suggested that Mathews, 25, had been involved in a fight at a San Diego nightclub. According to the report, a witness saw Mathews exchange words with a group of “five Hispanic males” before allegedly knocking a man out cold. The man was reportedly taken to UCSD medical hospital for treatment, while Mathews was “arrested” for assault.

Several news outlets, including Sports Illustrated, ran stories corroborating the account. A Chargers spokesman also acknowledged the report and said that the team was attempting to confirm Mathews’ role in the incident, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

However, the San Diego Union-Tribune has now confirmed that Mathews’ alleged arrest never actually took place. San Diego Police Department Sgt. Robin Rose directly contradicted the report. “We can say that he was definitely not arrested by SDPD,” Rose told the Union-Tribune. “There might have been a separate arrest that led to that [report] … it was not Ryan Mathews.”

Rose could not confirm whether or not Mathews had been present during the fight. A man was arrested for taking part in a fight outside of a San Diego nightclub, but police have yet to reveal the person’s name.

Mathews isn’t the only NFL running back to have his name erroneously associated with a bar fight this offseason. In May, Jacksonville Jaguars star Maurice Jones-Drew was arrested after allegedly knocking out a bouncer outside of a Florida restaurant.

Although St. Augustine police officials initially told the media that Jones-Drew had been charged with battery, they later issued a correction noting that he had yet to be charged for his role in the alleged incident. Last week, the Florida State Attorney’s office revealed that Jones-Drew would not face criminal charges for the alleged bar fight.

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