“An attorney calls it ‘horrific,’ saying it was near the kidney, broke the skin and sent the victim to the hospital.”
That’s how attorney Darren Wolf described the altercation between a man and former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton, in which Melton allegedly bit through the man’s skin, according to WFAA in Dallas.
The altercation took place at “Chill Sports Bar” in Grapevine, Texas in December.
Melton, who attended Grapevine High School, was reportedly asked to leave the bar around 2 a.m. on Dec. 23, but upon request, he became violent against bar owner Donald Payne. As seen in the video, punches were thrown. What goes unseen in the video is Payne’s allegation that Melton bit him.
“It took four men to do this (remove Melton from the bar) because he’s a big guy,” Wolf said on behalf of his client. “And in the process, my client — Mr. Payne — received a really really horrific bite from Mr. Melton. He bit him in the side, near the kidney, through the skin.”
Payne has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages.
The 27-year-old Melton was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and public intoxication. The day after the incident, Grapevine police Sgt. Robert Eberling told the Chicago Sun-Times that “no one was seriously hurt.”
Melton is reportedly in Minnesota today making a free-agent visit with the Vikings.
As the Star Tribune recalls, the Vikings dealt with four player arrests last season. Linebacker Erin Henderson, who was recently cut, was twice arrested on drunken driving charges, wide receiver Jerome Simpson pleaded guilty to third-degree DWI charges, and cornerback A.J. Jefferson was released from the team just hours after he was arrested on a charge of domestic assault.
