Panthers taking wait-and-see approach on Jon Beason allegations

CHARLOTTE — Coach John Fox said Wednesday that the team’s star linebacker, who has been charged with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly punched a man outside a Charlotte strip club, will not face disciplinary action until after his case has been resolved.

Gregory Frye, the man who claims Carolina Panthers player Jon Beason assaulted him at a Charlotte strip club, filed a civil lawsuit in court Tuesday seeking $10,000 in damages, claiming that Beason sucker-punched him on Nov. 16 and broke his nasal cavity and frac-tured a facial bone.

Frye’s attorney Curtis Osborne told reporters his client wants a jury trial.

According to the lawsuit, Frye attended the Panthers game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 15. Afterward, he went to Strike City in uptown Charlotte and then to the Uptown Cabaret, a strip club near Bank of America Stadium, with several people, including Beason’s teammate tight end Dante Rosario.

Frye allegedly told Rosario he believed he had seen Beason and a woman snorting cocaine at a party on Lake Norman in June.

When the news got back to Beason, the lawsuit alleges the All-Pro linebacker became upset and that Beason’s bodyguard suggested to Frye he should speak to the player directly. The lawsuit claims that Beason later approached Frye and threatened him.

After exiting the Uptown Cabaret, the lawsuit alleges Beason punched Frye, 29, in the face when Frye turned around to make sure Beason was following him. Frye also claimed to be kicked in the ribs, although he’s not sure by whom, and punched one more time. The lawsuit also says Frye claims that Beason responded by saying, “Yeah, I hit him. It might cost me a hundred grand, but you don’t go around telling people I’m doing coke.”

“Mr. Frye suffered injuries, including a crushed nasal cavity and a fractured facial bone, which will require corrective reconstruction surgery,” Osborne told Charlotte TV station WBTV on Tuesday outside Mecklenburg County Court.

Beason’s attorney George Laughrun and his agent Drew Rosenhaus did not return phone calls Tuesday, a day off for players.

Laughrun said earlier in the week that Beason plans to plead not guilty on Jan. 11. Laughrun said Beason had nothing to do with the incident. He called Frye’s claims in the civil suit “fantasy land if he thinks this happened.”

Police didn’t press charges against Beason because of insufficient probable cause, but a magistrate judge did feel the charges were war-ranted and Beason was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor assault. Beason was released Monday on a written permission to appear in court.

Mecklenburg County Court records show that Frye in the past has been arrested on charges of assaulting a female and writing a worth-less check, but those charges were dismissed.

“We were aware of the police department looking into the incident and have addressed it with Jon,” Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement released by the team on Monday. “At this time, there appears to be two different versions of what happened.”



(gastongazette.com)