The assault charge against star Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams for shoving a cameraman on the field has been dropped.
A prosecutor dismissed the misdemeanor charge — stemming from the Oct. 10, 2022 incident — on Friday, according to The Kansas City Star.
Adams, 30, still faces a lawsuit from the cameraman, identified as 20-year-old Park Zebley, and that civil case remains pending.
Following the Raiders’ 30-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Adams pushed Zebley with two hands while walking off the field and back into the tunnel toward the locker room.
Zebley, who was holding a tall piece of equipment, appeared to inadvertently walk in front of Adams, stumbling and falling backward after the shove.
Adams paused for a moment and stared at the camera operator before proceeding to walk into the tunnel, while Zebley was helped back to his feet by a security guard.
Adams took a moment to apologize to Zebley after the game, although it didn’t prevent that cameraman from pressing charges and suing Adams.
“Sorry to the guy I pushed over after the game,” Adams tweeted at the time. “Obviously very frustrated at the way the game ended and when he ran infront of me as I exited that was my reaction and I felt horrible immediately. Thats not me..MY APOLOGIES man hope you see this.”
The NFL investigated the incident but has not punished Adams while the legal process continues to play out.
Days after the incident, the Kansas City Municipal Court issued a citation alleging Adams “did, by an intentional, overt act, inflict bodily injury or cause an unlawful offensive contact upon [the victim] by pushing [him] to the ground using two hands causing whiplash, headache and a possible minor concussion.”
Zebley was working for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” as a freelance photographer.
In an interview with The St. Louis Dispatch after the incident, Zebley said it was his first day on the job.
“I’m traveling from one side of the field to the other,” Zebley told the outlet. “I’m following a crowd of media people. There’s a big crowd congregating around the tunnel. I’m walking with my camera stand, trying not to hit anybody, and I didn’t even see him.
“He became part of the crowd. Before I knew it, I was violently shoved to the ground. He was just staring at me. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, if he was going to hit me again or step on me, or what was going to happen. He walked past me. Somebody on the security team helped me up. And I ran.”
