Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders has been sidelined since November due to tearing a ligament in his thumb during a bar fight that needed to be surgically repaired. The Milwaukee Police Department has released a video of the altercation that resulted to the injuries to Sanders' hand.
According to NBC Sports, the Milwaukee PD cited Sanders twice for his involvement in the fight. Sanders has been cited for disorderly conduct and assault and battery charges, according to The Journal Sentinel.
The report indicates that the citations are "municipal citations," meaning that he'll have to pay fines totaling $551 dollars but the police have indicated that they will not press criminal charges.
Despite the charges being monetary and not criminal, Sanders and his lawyer plan on fighting the charges.
According to The Journal Sentinel, Michael Hart, Sanders' attorney, said Wednesday that Sanders was not the aggressor in the incident.
"We are going to defend him," Hart said via the publication. "He has gotten a bad rap. The facts will bear that out."
According to the report, police officials said at least one other person would be ticketed in connection with the incident.
While the video doesn't make it clear what sparked the melee, TMZ reported that it started near the VIP section of the club when Sanders was splashed with champagne.
During the video, it looks as though Sanders is trying to slide towards a booth on a slippery floor while a number of men are attempting to hit him. Once he makes it to the booth, it appears that a friend holds him back from rejoining the ruckus, but Sanders, 25, can be seen throwing bottles into the crowd which sparked it up again.
This past offseason, Sanders signed a four-year $44 million contract with the Bucks, and while he was supposed to be a defensive anchor for the team, he has only played in three games thus far this season due to the injury.
The Bucks have had a troublesome start to the season, sitting at a 3-14 record.
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