Broncos receiver David Kircus said he is certain he will be cleared of an assault charge stemming from a fight that landed him in jail and sent a 26- year-old man to a hospital.
“Well, sure I’m confident. … That’s why I wanted to take that lie-detector test, to show how confident I was that I wasn’t in the wrong,” Kircus said after practice Wednesday in his first public comments since his arrest May 21.
Broncos coach Mike Shana- han, who had pledged to release Kircus if it was determined he was at fault in the fight, said Tuesday that Kircus would remain on the team after passing a polygraph administered by an FBI expert last week.
Kircus said he told Shanahan he didn’t throw the first punch and was acting in self-defense. He volunteered to take a lie- detector test to show the coach he was telling the truth.
Kircus faces a second-degree assault charge that carries a prison term of two to six years. He is accused of punching the man and telling him, “You don’t know what I’m capable of,” after a party in suburban Denver on May 20. Kircus, free on $6,000 bail, said he is guilty only of poor judgment.
“Well, my bad judgment was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t break any laws by going where I was. I was out at a time at night that I shouldn’t be out at that time. That’s obvious. And as I’m growing up and I’m becoming an adult – it’s a slow process for some people – it’s just one of those things you learn from,” Kircus said.
Dolphins: Linebacker Joey Porter pleaded no contest and paid a $1,000 fine for punching Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones after a disagreement at a casino blackjack table in Las Vegas.
Porter, 30, and Jones, 27, scuffled March 18 inside the Palms hotel-casino and in the valet area after exchanging words at the blackjack table, prosecutor Brian Rutledge said. He said Porter, a former athlete at Colorado State, could have faced up to six months in jail and the $1,000 fine. Jones was not charged.
The Dolphins re-signed quarterback Cleo Lemon to a one- year contract worth $1.3 million.
Patriots: Linebacker Eric Alexander and cornerback Randall Gay re-signed with New England.
