June 16, 2005
Francis hit with lawsuit
Guard accused of being involved in scuffle Sunday
BY JOHN DENTON
FLORIDA TODAY
ORLANDO - Steve Francis was hit with a 14-count civil lawsuit late Wednesday night by two brothers alleging the Orlando Magic guard and his entourage beat them in a Washington, D.C., nightclub.
The alleged scuffle took place at approximately 6 a.m. Sunday where Francis was partying following the Mike Tyson-Kevin McBride boxing match.
Akbar Muhammad of Essex County, NJ, and Nafis Muhammad-Baker of Landover, Md., are accusing Francis and 12 unnamed members of his party of beating them about the head and body. The suit also claims Francis hit Muhammad over the head with a bottle.
The lawsuit goes on to suggest that Muhammad and a third brother, Ahmad Muhammad, were beaten so viciously that they were rendered unconscious.
The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages the plaintiffs are seeking.
Francis, 28, has not been charged and a police spokesman would neither confirm nor deny that he was the subject of an investigation. His agent, Jeff Fried, said that Francis was not involved in the scuffle and was escorted out of the nightclub by his security team after a bottle was thrown at him.
The civil suit filed Wednesday alleges that Francis became enraged following Muhammad-Baker making a comment to him about a woman with Francis. The suit alleges that the woman "appeared extremely tousled to the extent that her breasts had become partially exposed." After Muhammad-Baker pointed this out to Francis, the suit claims that Francis stated: "I'm from D.C.; I run this town."
The claim alleges Francis ran downstairs from the VIP section, returned with the other 12 unnamed members of Francis' party and they rushed toward Muhammad-Baker and Muhammad. Both claim to have been beaten and kicked "about the head and body," and Muhammad is alleging Francis hit him over the head with a bottle.
The suit also claims that after the fighting stopped Ahmad Muhammad attempted to locate his cell phone. Muhammad-Baker then called the phone in an attempt to retrieve the phone. They are alleging that Francis answered the phone and stated, "We killed him. You're next."
Francis is a native of Silver Spring, Md., and starred in college at the University of Maryland. He sat ringside at the Tyson-McBride boxing match at Washington's MCI Center. Later, at Zanzibar On the Waterfront, the alleged scuffle took place.
Fried disputes the notion that Francis had any involvement.
"He was just leaving and they were hassling him and that's when something was thrown at Steve," Fried said. "The security people got Steve down the stairwell and out of the place as quickly as possible. What took place after that we don't know."
Fried said that Francis was troubled by the lawsuit filed against him.
"He is really is bothered by this," Fried said. "As hard-nosed as he is on the court he's really a sensitive person away from basketball and this bothers him greatly."
Francis led the Magic in scoring (21.3 ppg.) and assists (7.0 apg.) in his first season in Orlando, but he did have his troubles. He finished third in the NBA in both turnovers and technical fouls. He was fined an undisclosed amount by the team for skipping the first practice after the all-star break and he was suspended for three games by the NBA for kicking a courtside photographer in February.
Quelle: FloridaToday
