LAS VEGAS -- Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter pleaded
no contest Wednesday and paid a $1,000 fine for punching Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones after a disagreement at a
casino blackjack table, authorities said.
Jones
Porter
Porter did not appear in Las Vegas Justice Court while his
lawyer, Karen Winckler, entered the plea to a misdemeanor battery
charge and paid the fine, said a court aide to Justice of the Peace
Pro Tem James Gubler. Gubler accepted the plea from Winckler on
Porter's behalf.
Winckler did not immediately respond to messages seeking
comment.
Porter, 30, and Jones, 27, scuffled March 18 inside the Palms
hotel-casino and in the valet area after exchanging words at the
blackjack table, prosecutor Brian Rutledge said. He said Porter
could have faced up to six months in jail and the $1,000 fine.
Jones was not charged.
Jones, who suffered a cut on his forehead, said Porter
"approached him to fight because they argue on the football
field," according to a police report. The report says Porter threw
the first punch.
Porter, 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, left the Pittsburgh Steelers
after eight years and signed a five-year, $32 million deal with the
Dolphins in March. Jones, 6-5 and 307 pounds, missed much of last
season with a knee injury.
The NFL has been cracking down on off-field misbehavior since
Roger Goodell became commissioner last summer. Porter's plea is
certain to draw the league's attention.
The two players had a history of on-field trash talking with
each other when the Steelers and Bengals played. The teams are in
the AFC North, and play each other twice each season.
Neither Jones nor the Bengals had any comment, Bengals spokesman
Jack Brennan said Wednesday from Cincinnati.
Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron issued a statement in Miami
crediting Porter with informing the team of the incident.
"Joey has been upfront and honest with me since joining our
team," Cameron said. "He fully understands the type of character
we expect from our players, both on and off the field, and I am
confident he will learn from this."
Neither Jones nor the Bengals had any comment, Bengals spokesman
Jack Brennan said Wednesday from Cincinnati.