5 NLL'ers Suspended Indefinitely After TGIFridays Fight

((HT: Minnesota Swarm/KARE-TV))

The National Lacrosse League has suspended five Rochester Nighthawks players indefinitely after their alleged part in a brawl at the TGIFriday's restaurant near the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota earlier this week.

The Nighthawks lost the game they were in town for against the Minnesota Swarm and got into it with other patrons ((details below in the TV report)). The fight ended up involving as many as 30 people from inside the restaurant and caused a reported US$1,600 in damages.

Tyler Burton, Cody Jamieson, Sid Smith, Jordan Hall, and Travis Hill and were all arrested. Smith was charged with one count of gross misdemeanor- obstructing the legal process; gross misdemeanor- obstructing the legal process with force, and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Hill and Jamieson were charged with misdemeanor obstruction charges, and Hall and Burton were charged with misdemeanor- obstructing the legal process, and disorderly conduct.

Got all that...???

The players all had court appearances Tuesday before getting to return back to New York state.

Here's the second half highlights of the game- before the Nighthawks got in trouble
But they're very quiet highlights of the second half...

No sound... Swarm won 9-6...


"Players in the NLL are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct themselves in a way that promotes the values upon which the league is based," NLL commissioner George Daniel said in a statement. "The players involved in this incident that were arrested failed to live up to this standard and are subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself may not ultimately result in conviction of a crime."

The suspensions are bad news to Rochester as Jamieson is the team's top scorer.

Here's the story from our friends at WHEC-TV in Rochester


Here's the official statement from the team, through their Facebook page...

According to media accounts, up to 30 people were involved in an altercation at a TGI Fridays in Bloomington, Minnesota on Monday. According to the police report on the incident, 7 people were taken into custody after the altercation. We can confirm that four Knighthawks players required medical treatment and spent the night in the hospital. We can also confirm that five of the people taken into custody were Rochester Knighthawks’ players.

The 5 players were released on their own recognizance with no bail required after appearing in court on Tuesday and are home now. We are conducting our own investigation of the incident. As there is now an ongoing legal proceeding, we will not be issuing any further comment at this time.