Brandon Marshall had quite an eventful day yesterday. Marshall, who was honored by the National Football Foundation and received a humanitarian Award Tuesday night at a Manhattan gala, also spent a long day in federal court for being accused of punching a woman in the face.
Christian Myles, 28, a former San Diego State basketball player, testified that Marshall assaulted her outside of a Manhattan nightclub in 2012. Myles, seeking unspecified damages, broke down several times during her testimony, stating Marshall inflicted “excruciating pain” on her. Myles has stated she suffered eye, neck, and back injuries. A police investigation at the time resulted in no criminal charges.
When asked about the allegations prior to the awards ceremony Tuesday evening, the veteran receiver opted to focus on the charitable efforts in regards to his foundation Project 375, which raises mental health awareness. Marshall himself was diagnosed in 2011 with borderline personality disorder, and has been a major figure in raising awareness about the subject and challenges surrounding mental health. Marshall was honored to be recognized at the event with the Ernie Arcossi Humanitarian Award, named after the former New York Giants general manager.
“To be honest, I don’t really care about accolades and awards,” he said, “but I’d say affirmation is vital for all of us, and it gives me fuel to continue to move forward, because the work we’re doing is hard.”
Marshall also made a slight plea for unsigned quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to return. The veteran receiver is confident Fitzpatrick will be in a Jets uniform come the start of the season. Or, at the very least, he’s confident that the Jets and head coach Todd Bowles, who was a guest at the event, have a plan.
“He better be (coming back to the Jets),” Marshall said, laughing. “I just talked to Coach (Bowles), and Coach said we’ll be OK, so I assume we’ll be OK.”
Marshall, who spent eight hours in court Tuesday, is having to face some of his past as a result of this trial, with video footage being used as the main evidence in the trial, with Marshall’s attorney stating his use of “admirable restraint” in the altercation, painting Myles as simply suing Marshall once she found out he was a professional athlete.
The trial is ongoing, and is set to resume on Wednesday.
