LAS VEGAS -- A strip club manager paralyzed in a triple shooting in February is suing the National Football League, the Tennessee Titans and suspended football player Adam "Pacman" Jones, claiming they're responsible for his injuries, his lawyer said.
Tommy Urbanski, 44, seeks unspecified damages in the civil lawsuit, which his lawyer, Matthew Dushoff, said would be filed Friday in Clark County District Court. It also names the owners of Harlem Knights, a Houston strip club that rented the Minxx Gentleman's Club in Las Vegas for a party the weekend of the NBA All-Star Game.
"The fact that the NFL and the Titans did not punish Adam 'Pacman' Jones until after Tommy was paralyzed is a proximate cause of Tommy's injuries," Dushoff said before a news conference at a Henderson hotel with Urbanski and his wife, Kathleen Urbanski.
Jones' attorney, Robert Langford, denied the troubled cornerback had any responsibility for the man's injuries and called seeking damages from the player, the NFL and the Titans "a Hail Mary pass."
"There's no basis in fact for suing the NFL and the Titans," Langford said.
Jones, 24, faces two felony charges alleging he incited a melee and threatened to kill people inside the club minutes before the shooting outside. No one has been charged in the shooting.
"From my heart, I feel bad for this guy and his family," Langford told The Associated Press. "But Pacman Jones is not the shooter. No one has said that he is. There's not one bit of evidence to link him to Mr. Urbanski's injury."
Urbanski, a former professional wrestler, was shot four times and was left paralyzed from the waist down in the Feb. 19 shooting. He spent several months rehabilitating at a Denver hospital before moving in August to a hotel in Henderson because his house has not been outfitted to accommodate a wheelchair.
"Even 'three strikes and you're out' and this wouldn't have happened to me," Urbanski said at a news conference with his schoolteacher wife.
Jones was arrested six times after being drafted by the Titans with the sixth pick overall in April 2005. After his arrest in Las Vegas, he was suspended by the NFL for the 2007 season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, but he could be reinstated after Nov. 19.
"We've done our homework on this. If Jones had been disciplined earlier, more likely than not, he would not have been invited as NFL player Pacman Jones to the club," Dushoff said.
The NFL and the Titans said they would fight the lawsuit. Harlem Knights representatives in Houston did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
"We have great sympathy for Tommy and Kathy, but we strongly disagree with any claims against the NFL and the Titans and will respond appropriately to the court," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Tommy Urbanski, 44, seeks unspecified damages in the civil lawsuit, which his lawyer, Matthew Dushoff, said would be filed Friday in Clark County District Court. It also names the owners of Harlem Knights, a Houston strip club that rented the Minxx Gentleman's Club in Las Vegas for a party the weekend of the NBA All-Star Game.
"The fact that the NFL and the Titans did not punish Adam 'Pacman' Jones until after Tommy was paralyzed is a proximate cause of Tommy's injuries," Dushoff said before a news conference at a Henderson hotel with Urbanski and his wife, Kathleen Urbanski.
Jones' attorney, Robert Langford, denied the troubled cornerback had any responsibility for the man's injuries and called seeking damages from the player, the NFL and the Titans "a Hail Mary pass."
"There's no basis in fact for suing the NFL and the Titans," Langford said.
Jones, 24, faces two felony charges alleging he incited a melee and threatened to kill people inside the club minutes before the shooting outside. No one has been charged in the shooting.
"From my heart, I feel bad for this guy and his family," Langford told The Associated Press. "But Pacman Jones is not the shooter. No one has said that he is. There's not one bit of evidence to link him to Mr. Urbanski's injury."
Urbanski, a former professional wrestler, was shot four times and was left paralyzed from the waist down in the Feb. 19 shooting. He spent several months rehabilitating at a Denver hospital before moving in August to a hotel in Henderson because his house has not been outfitted to accommodate a wheelchair.
"Even 'three strikes and you're out' and this wouldn't have happened to me," Urbanski said at a news conference with his schoolteacher wife.
Jones was arrested six times after being drafted by the Titans with the sixth pick overall in April 2005. After his arrest in Las Vegas, he was suspended by the NFL for the 2007 season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, but he could be reinstated after Nov. 19.
"We've done our homework on this. If Jones had been disciplined earlier, more likely than not, he would not have been invited as NFL player Pacman Jones to the club," Dushoff said.
The NFL and the Titans said they would fight the lawsuit. Harlem Knights representatives in Houston did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
"We have great sympathy for Tommy and Kathy, but we strongly disagree with any claims against the NFL and the Titans and will respond appropriately to the court," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
