Legendary NFL player Terrell Owens claims he was not the aggressor in the fight at a store parking lot.
The incident happened on Saturday night outside a CVS store in the Los Angeles area. A video first obtained by TMZ Sports showed Owens throwing a man at an unidentified man. The male was allegedly harassing customers inside the store prior the altercation with the former wide receiver.
The six-time Pro Bowler told The Associated Press he acted in self-defense when the male “made offensive gestures and threatening statements” to him.
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Owens also stated that the man directed threats at a fan he was speaking with at the store.
The former wide receiver said he walked outside in an effort to de-escalate the situation, but the man followed him.
“The aggressor continued threatening the fan just as he did in the store,” Owens told the AP. “Once again, attempting to diffuse the ongoing situation, I placed myself between the fan and the aggressor. I made verbal demands asking the aggressor to stop his threatening behavior.”
Owens also said the man “swung at me first” before he “felt obligated to prevent the aggressor from becoming more violent.”
TMZ published a video of the fight at the Inglewood store.
It is unclear whether police were called to the scene. Local authorities did not immediately respond to media inquiries.
Owens was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. He was named a first-team All-Pro player five times.
He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018. However, Owens declined to attend the enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio and instead hosted his own celebration on the campus of his alma mater the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“Like anyone else, I was making a stop at CVS and was blindsided by all of this,” Owens said. “Unfortunately, I had to act using self-defense to end a threat towards myself and the fan. I will attempt to make positive from this negative experience.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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