Former NFL offensive lineman and radio broadcaster Joe Staysniak was arrested on Tuesday morning on multiple charges following a domestic dispute involving his son and others.
The 56-year-old Staysniak was booked by the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Department around 1:40 a.m. on multiple charges of intimidation, pointing a firearm, strangulation, and domestic battery, per jail records.
Staysniak’s son, Lucas Staysniak, told police that he was sitting in a vehicle on the property with his boyfriend when his father attempted to open the door. He eventually did and then started assaulting both passengers.
“Lucas advised that his father opened the rear right passenger door and that when he did his he [sic] grabbed [passenger’s] hood and was choking him,” the affidavit read. “Lucas stated that his father then punched him, causing his lip to bleed and then punched [passenger]. Lucas stated that his father then displayed a firearm and told he and [passenger] that they’re lucky he saw who it was.”
The other passenger in the car told police that Staysniak “‘flashed a gun’ and put it against the side of his face at one point.
Staysniak told officers that he received “a call from a neighbor advising him there was a suspicious car in their front yard.” He admitted to having a firearm and showing it during the incident but denied pointing it at anyone or touching anyone with it. He also said his son “tried to attack him,” which caused him to “physically restrain” him.
Staysniak was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 1990 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs Colts, and Arizona Cardinals. He then went on to work as a radio host for Emmis Communications for over two decades. In 2020, he was suspended one week without pay after complaining on air about how Black people need to stop being victims, that the Confederate flag is not racist, and that he found it hard to believe that police targeted Black people. He left the company in 2021.
