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6 days ago
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Former NHL player Paul Bissonnette fought six men who were allegedly intoxicated and harassing staff at a restaurant.
Bissonnette was known as a fighter during his six seasons in the NHL, and those skills were put to the test on Sunday night in a Scottsdale, Arizona, restaurant.
The 39-year-old did not go looking for a fight; rather, he was at his favorite spot, Houston's, that he says he visits a few times per week.
"The bar where I normally sit was packed. I sat in the dining area, and at one point, there was a bit of a ruckus going on in the bar," Bissonnette said in a video posted to X. "It was a bunch of drunk golfers. Things obviously continued to escalate. They asked one guy to leave, and then one guy kept getting in the manager's face, put his hands on him," Bissonnette said.
The physicality lasted about 30-45 seconds, the former player went on, explaining he soon went over and told the man they were "going to have problems" if he continued to harass the staff.
'I ate three kicks, one in the neck two in the head.'
Bissonnette elaborated on the story on his Barstool Sports podcast, "Spittin' Chiclets," where he revealed more details on what he said to one of the alleged aggressors.
"I walk over, I grabbed the guy's arm, I said, 'Listen, buddy, if you keep harassing and assaulting the staff here, we're going to go outside and have some problems.' The minute that left my mouth, the guy beside him starts throwing punches, and the next thing you know there was about four guys start swinging at me," he recalled.
"We're in the middle of the bar area, and we're just throwing," the hockey player continued. Bissonnette said while he was taking punches, his shirt was ripped, his shoes came off, and at one point he was even dropped to the ground and got "boot f***ed."
"I ate three kicks, one in the neck, two in the head," he continued. "I'll get their names, and this is gonna be a thing."
Scottsdale Police mostly corroborated Bissonnette's story in a statement to Fox 10 Phoenix, but did not comment on whether or not the men were intoxicated.
"There was an altercation inside the restaurant with six adult men and the management. Reportedly, Paul Bissonnette tried to help management calm the men and get them to leave. The situation escalated to the men assaulting Paul Bissonnette both inside and outside of the restaurant," Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis told the outlet.
The men have since been identified and charged with the following:
- Danny Bradley, accused of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct
- John Carroll, accused of misdemeanor disorderly conduct
- William Carroll, accused of two counts of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct
- Sean Daley, accused of felony aggravated assault, felony forgery, and misdemeanor disorderly conduct
- Edward Jennings, accused of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct
- Henry Mesker, accused of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct
Daley's felony charge is allegedly in regard to a possibly fraudulent military identification card that was reportedly found in his wallet.
Paul Bissonnette (right) punches Jared Boll of the Columbus Blue Jackets during a fight in the second period on March 16, 2013.Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
During his recollection, Bissonnette was particularly angered due to how respectful and talented he said the staff at the restaurant is.
"I'm very, very angry," he said, assuring the audience that surveillance video of the interactions would be released.
Always trying to find humor in the situation, Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy shared a text message from Bissonnette the day after the altercation.
"Just saw a story saying you got jumped. Are you okay?" Portnoy asked Bissonnette.
"Ya. Took some but gave more," the former fighter replied.
Portnoy called the response "vintage" Bissonnette.
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