Man Apologizes To Rams Star Aaron Donald For Mistakenly Accusing Him In Pittsburgh Assault
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A man who mistakenly accused Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald of assaulting him at a Pittsburgh club last weekend issued an apology Friday.
DeVincent Spriggs' attorney told CBS affiliate KDKA-TV that his client wants to apologize to the 29-year-old reigning NFL defensive player of the year for accusing him of carrying out the assault.
"I wanted to make this statement public," Spriggs said through his attorney Todd Hollis. "And to extend an apology to Aaron for what he's gone through, but I clearly know this was not him."
The assault occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 11 at an after-hours club on Pittsburgh's Southside.
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old Spriggs publicly accused Donald of perpetrating it. Hollis also provided KDKA with a photo showing the injuries to Spriggs face following the purported assault.
However, on Friday morning, Donald's attorney told KDKA that he reviewed surveillance video which showed that Donald was not involved in the assault, and in fact tried to help Spriggs.
Pittsburgh police also told KDKA that the surveillance video corroborates White's description of the events.
The surveillance video obtained by KDKA shows Spriggs at the bottom of a pile being kicked and punched by a group of men.
In the video Donald is off to the side. A few seconds later he comes over to the fight and can be seen pulling people away from Spriggs.
"Aaron is the one who actually broke up the fight," Donald's attorney Casey White said Friday. "He's the one that pulled people off of Mr. Spriggs."
No charges have yet been filed in the incident.
The 29-year-old Donald, a Pittsburgh native, played his college football at the University of Pittsburgh and attended Penn Hills High School, also in the Pittsburgh area. He was drafted by the Rams 13th overall in 2014.
He won his second NFL defensive player of the year award last season and was selected unanimously to the NFL All-Pro team, his sixth straight such selection.
