Joe Staysniak: Former Indianapolis Colts lineman and WFNI radio host arrested for punching son and choking son’s friend
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA: Former Indianapolis Colts lineman Joe Staysniak, who was a sports radio personality on WFNI’s ‘The Fan Morning Show' until 2021, got arrested on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, after being accused of punching his son Lucas and choking his son's friend. Booked into the Hendricks County Jail, the 56-year-old former athlete has been charged with domestic battery, pointing a firearm, intimidation, and strangulation.
According to the affidavit detailing his arrest, Joe informed police that he engaged in a violent altercation with his son upon receiving “a call from a neighbor advising him there was a suspicious car in their front yard.” He claimed that his son “tried to attack him which caused him to physically restrain” him. Joe also said that his wife separated the two, reported New York Post.
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What led to Joe Staysniak's arrest?
Joe said that he grabbed his son's friend by the hoodie "to get his attention." However, his son Lucas claims that he was sitting in a parked vehicle on the property when his father tried to open the door and assaulted Lucas and his friend. The affidavit states, “Lucas advised that his father opened the rear right passenger door." His father then "grabbed [passenger’s] hood and was choking him.” His father then punched him, causing his lip to bleed and then punched his friend. Lucas mentioned that his father then displayed a firearm and told him and his friend "that they’re lucky he saw who it was,” stated New York Post. But Joe claims that he told Lucas and his friend that he was carrying a firearm, but denied pointing the gun at them. He also denied the accusation of hitting his son's friend, reported MSN.
Who is Joe Staysniak?
He played for Ohio State as a seventh-round pick of the Chargers in 1990 and then played for the Bills in 1991, reported FanNation. As per Outkick, he was also a part of the 1986 Big Ten Championship team and received All-Big Ten honors. After retiring from football, he started hosting 'The Jeff and Big Joe Show,' on 1070 AM and 93.5 FM in Indianapolis until 2021. However, in 2020, he was suspended for a week for comments around the George Floyd protests where he said that Black people needed “to stop being a victim."
His co-host Jeff Rickard said at that time, “Joe, quite frankly, had statements that were very insensitive to a lot of the folks that are out there fighting for their rights and feel like their voices have not been heard. And it’s time for them to be heard in the wake of the George Floyd murder," reports Outkick.