Three of the four Jacksonville Jaguars involved in an incident at a night club over a bar bill of more than $60,000 have taken to the field less than 24 hours after their release.
Safeties Barry Church, 30, Ronnie Harrison, 21, and Jarrod Wilson, 24, who were detained early Saturday morning, played Sunday when the Jaguars lost 24-18 to the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley.
Cornerback DJ Hayden, 28, who was also detained in the incident, was out due to injury.
The Florida American football team confirmed that some of the squad was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police because they didn’t seem to settle payment for the hefty check they racked up before they made their way toward the exit.
CBS Sports said the players in the Saturday 4am incident were Church, Harrison, Wilson and Hayden.
All were arrested but Church, and they were released when the tab was settled.
Jarrod Wilson, 24, is seen warming up on Sunday, just hours after being released from custody
All were arrested in the incident but Barry Church, 30, (right) and they were released when the tab was settled
Ronnie Harrison, 21, (left) who was also detained early Saturday morning, played Sunday
Cornerback DJ Hayden, 28, (pictured October 26) who was also detained in the incident, was out due to injury
The Sun newspaper reported the foursome ‘squared up’ to security working at the Reign Showclub in the capital city after ordering champagne with a starting price of approximately $580 per bottle as well as vodka all night.
While the sportsmen had to be on form for a game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, a source said the altercation in the tourist-centric Piccadilly Circus neighborhood ‘was the West End equivalent of King Kong meeting Godzilla’.
The beefy men’s showdown at the private members’ club occurred despite the players estimated to rake in weekly salaries of around $55,200.
‘The total bill was in the region of £50,000 [$64,000] and some of the lads tried to leave the club but were prevented from doing so by security,’ the insider explained.
‘Things got pretty heated and there was a lot of swearing and shouting and things became physical. In terms of preparation for their match, you couldn’t think of anything worse.’
Fight at London Reign Showclub involving security men was over a $64,000 booze bill according to a source
The Piccadilly Circus burlesque club is known for its aerial performances and burlesque
The team reportedly tried to leave without paying for their orders Sunday morning at 4am
The Jaguars were forced to admit the embarrassing incident in a formal statement.
‘We are aware that 4 of our players were detained over restitution of a bill. The matter is being resolved and the players are with the team. Any discipline will be handled internally,’ they said.
The Sun reported the team were freed by law enforcement after nine hours when the bill was settled.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport described the incident as a ‘misunderstanding’. He said sources told him the players were sent bottles of champagne and liquors which they thought were comped, but were instead on the bill. They then refused to pay, Rapoport reports.
Players were joined by staff from the visiting team at the burlesque club that’s known for its aerial performances, according the report.
Rapoport says five more players – Telvin Smith, Myles Jack, Leon Jacobs, Dante Fowler, and TJ Yeldon were at the club on Friday night, but they were not detained.