Richie Incognito won't be charged by police in gym incident, report says

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer
Former Buffalo Bills offensive guard Richie Incognito won't be charged after a strange incident at a Florida gym. (AP)
Former Buffalo Bills offensive guard Richie Incognito won’t be charged after a strange incident at a Florida gym. (AP)

At least Richie Incognito won’t have any legal issues stemming from a bizarre incident at a gym in Florida.

Incognito, the four-time Pro Bowl guard who was released by the Buffalo Bills earlier this month, was accused of throwing a dumbbell at another gym patron. That prompted a forced mental evaluation of Incognito.

However, police in Boca Raton, Fla. told USA Today that Incognito won’t be charged with a crime.

No charges coming for Incognito

USA Today’s A.J. Perez reported that police had decided to not charge Incognito. Incognito was held for a psychiatric evaluation under the Baker Act in Florida. A person can be held involuntarily for up to 72 hours, then can be released if no charges are brought. Police told Perez that they were unaware if Incognito stayed for evaluation past the 72-hour window.

“Once individuals are received by the mental health facility, we are no longer involved in the process,” Boca Raton police spokesperson Jessica Desir said. “We do not have further information to provide.”

A strange incident will linger for Incognito

When Incognito threw a dumbbell at another gym patron he was “suffering an altered, paranoid state and believed ordinary citizens were government officials that were tracking him and recording him,” police reports said.

“There’s a guy walking around with headphones on,” Incognito reportedly said, according to the police report. “I’m running NSA class level 3 documents through my phone. I can’t have anybody in bluetooth capability of me or taking pictures of me.”

Incognito is best known for his involvement in a bullying scandal when he was with the Miami Dolphins. He had a strange offseason this year, announcing his retirement and then a couple days later tweeting at the Buffalo Bills he would be at their offseason workouts. The Bills put him on the reserve/retired list, but earlier this month Incognito said he wanted to play again. The Bills, despite major departures on the offensive line this offseason, released Incognito.

Incognito is a free agent, but the incident in the Florida gym will make teams think twice about considering signing him. But Incognito won’t have the complications of a legal case following him.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!