LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been a rough ride for Raiders fans lately.
The team's coach recently resigned after old emails revealed he used racist and homophobic language. Earlier this week, former first-round pick Henry Ruggs III was charged with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death. Ruggs is accused of speeding while driving drunk, traveling more than 150 miles per hour moments before causing a crash that killed a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman and her dog.
RELATED: Las Vegas woman suing Raiders Damon Arnette over hit-and-run crash
Today, 13 Action News learned that current Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette is facing two civil lawsuits.
The first accuses Arnette of causing a hit-and-run crash that injured a Las Vegas woman last year. The lawsuit says on October 14, 2020, Arnette was driving eastbound on St. Rose Parkway at a high rate of speed, trying to avoid being late to a meeting at team headquarters, when he attempted to make a dangerous, last-second turn.
The lawsuit says Arnette's vehicle skidded out and he lost control, before violently crashing his vehicle into a white car operated by the plaintiff in this case. The lawsuit goes on to accuse Arnette's passenger of falsely trying to take the blame before Arnette ultimately admitted he was the driver at the time of the crash.
Attorneys for the plaintiff sent 13 Action News a statement that reads in part, "This lawsuit only arises because Mr. Arnette has failed to take responsibility for his actions. In Nevada, when you harm someone due to negligence, you are responsible for making it right. Our client is left with a mountain of medical bills from this crash, totaling more than $92,000."
The second lawsuit against Arnette was filed by a valet attendant at The Aria for an incident that allegedly happened in late May of 2021. The attendant accuses Arnette of screaming obscenities and spitting on them after he was unable to present the proper ticket to retrieve his vehicle. The plaintiff says they suffered mentally and emotionally and is seeking more than $30,000 dollars in damages.
Neither plaintiff was willing to talk publicly today about the ongoing lawsuits against Damon Arnette. 13 Action News also reached out to Arnette's attorneys to allow him to present his side of what happened, but we're still waiting to hear back.
Finally, Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was arrested in January, accused of driving drunk before crashing his car near the airport connector. The D.A later dropped the charges because Jacobs' blood alcohol level was below the legal limit at the time of the crash.
TC Martin, host of the "TC Martin Show," says he sees young professional athletes behave this way all too often.
"For people to blame the Raiders or the city of Las Vegas, I'd say totally wrong. This is on each and every individual who makes a bad decision. Driving crazy speeds late at night, being out late at night drinking, those are individual decisions, has nothing to do with the Raiders organization or the city of Las Vegas. You've got young players in their early 20's that came out of college as superstars, first-round picks, earned a lot of money. And unfortunately, with a lot of these athletes today in all of the sports, there's a sense of entitlement that may be certain rules do not apply to them," said Martin.
Ruggs, Jacobs, and Arnette are 22, 23, and 25 years old, respectively. The Raiders released Ruggs earlier this week. Jacobs and Arnette are still on the Raiders active roster.
