Peter Vecsey was charged Friday with fourth-degree assault in an attack on a man who reportedly called the NBC basketball analyst "an idiot" at a suburban toy store.
The charge was filed in Lynnwood District Court a day after Vecsey and another man were sued by Derek and Tracey Nephew for unspecified damages in Snohomish County Superior Court.The second man, identified only as "John Doe 1" in the suit, also may be charged with assault, said Mike Jacobs, Lynnwood city attorney. The man lives in the area and has no apparently connection with NBC, Jacobs added.
Both cases stem from an episode Tuesday at the Toys R Us outlet in Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, a suburb between Seattle and Everett.
Fourth-degree assault is a gross misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine. For someone without prior convictions, a "very rough" estimate of a typical penalty on conviction would be two days to a week in jail and a few hundred dollars, Jacobs said.
Vecsey, in Seattle for the NBA Finals, has 20 days in which to respond to the suit after being served with a copy of the document.
"I'd love to say something but I can't," Vecsey told a reporter at Seattle's Key Arena before the start of Friday night's Chicago Bulls-Seattle SuperSonics game. Besides working for NBC, he writes an NBA column for the New York Post.
A police report and the lawsuit gave the following account:
Nephew's wife pointed out Vecsey to her husband as they were shopping for a birthday present for their 4-year-old daughter. Nephew didn't believe her and added, "besides, Peter Vecsey is an idiot," the report said.
The NBC broacaster and two other men followed the Nephews, returned the insult in somewhat stronger terms and added, "What do you have to say now?"
Nephew replied, "nothing," then said he thought some of Vecsey's comments on the air were "kind of stupid."
Nephew said he didn't want any trouble. Vecsey told him to leave the store. Nephew said he was shopping and wasn't going to leave.
Vecsey then said, "I'm not going to hit you, but my friends will," Nephew told police.
Saying he didn't want to start anything, Nephew started to walk away but was pushed down by one of the other men, who then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hit him at least twice on the side of the head.
As Nephew fended off the blows, Vecsey also joined in, striking him at least once before a store electrician pulled the broadcaster's companion off him, according to both reports.
The electrician supported Nephew's account, telling police he heard loud voices, followed by Nephew saying, "I don't want to start anything."
Vecsey proceeded to buy something after the incident, telling a clerk at the check-out counter, "It happens all the time. No one gets away with that," police said in their report.
Nephew was treated for cuts and bruises on his arms and head in the manager's office.