NFL Players And The 4th of July Are A Dangerous Mix

Buccaneers wide receiver Louis Murphy. Photo: New York Daily News

July 9, 2016
Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
  

The Independence Day weekend was a strange one for NFL players, who just wanted to get a little shuteye.

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Buccaneers receiver, and former New York Giant, Louis Murphy Jr. spent the night in a West Palm Beach museum after falling asleep at the wedding of Bears receiver Deonte Thompson. Murphy and Thompson were teammates at the University of Florida. 

According to The Times, after drinking too much at the reception on Friday July 1st, Murphy stepped outside of the museum into a courtyard, where he ended up falling asleep on some steps. Murphy awoke in the early hours of Saturday morning alone in the courtyard and locked out of the museum. With few options, Murphy broke a pane of glass on the museum door, unlocked it, and entered the museum so he could use a phone and call for assistance. The police were notified and arrived just after 1:00 in the morning.

Murphy has released a statement which, in part, said:

"This was really just a series of small unfortunate circumstances. With no one around, my only option was to break a small glass pane of the door in order to access a phone and call for help. I dialed the police and explained that I needed assistance. It's unfortunate that I needed to break the glass, but the police officers on the scene and museum staff acknowledged that I didn't have many other options."

The damage to the museum door was accessed at $1,000. Murphy is working with the museum to ensure that the situation is rectified. 

Jaguars Running back Denard Robinson. Photo: New York Daily News

A day later and 300 miles north in Jacksonville, Jaguars running back Denard Robinson also fell asleep at the wrong time, and the results could have been disastrous.

According to a police report obtained by The Florida Times Union, Robinson, traveling with a female passenger in the car, fell asleep at the wheel and drove his car into a retention pond. Making matters worse, neither Robinson nor his passenger were awakened by the accident. 

A witness reported the accident and police arrived just before 4:30 AM to find the driver's side of the car submerged under water and both occupants passed out. Authorities approached the vehicle on the passengers side, woke up the female, and assisted in removing her from the vehicle. They then woke up Robinson, who was still asleep at that point. According to the report, upon waking up, Robinson still thought he was on the road and did not want to exit the vehicle. Officers had to explain the situation to him, and he ultimately exited through the passenger side door. 

At the scene, authorities determined that Robinson was not impaired and will not face any charges. Neither Robinson or his passenger were hurt, and both refused medical assistance. 

Robinson took to Twitter on Tuesday, to say the following:

“I just wanted to let everyone know that I was involved in a single-car accident on Saturday night, and thankfully, everyone was safe and remained unharmed. I thank God every single day for the opportunities he has presented me with and I’m grateful every morning to wake up healthy. I should not have been driving that late or when I was that tired, but again, I’m just glad that everyone was safe. God Bless.”

It's been an eventful couple Independence Day weekends for the NFL. Last 4th of July, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre Paul blew of a couple of fingers on one of his hands in a fireworks accident, that also cost him much of the 2015 season.