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By Andrea Kremer
NBCSports.com
San Diego Chargers starting linebacker Steve Foley, shot by an off-duty policeman Sept. 3, has undergone multiple surgeries since the controversial incident and cannot walk.
The 31-year-old was released from the hospital on Sept. 27 after least five surgical procedures. One of the bullets severed the main artery in his left leg and doctors had to graft a vein from his right leg to make sure the blood was flowing properly. (He also sustained a wound on his hand, which may be a grazing shot, but that is still unclear).
The 6-4 Foley is not suffering paralysis. He is being kept off his feet so he can heal and recover from extensive trauma. He performs rehab three times a week with a physical therapist at his home, getting manipulation to his leg to try to regain range of motion. He must use a walker to stand up during rehab. He has lost 20 pounds from his 265-pound frame.
Foley says he is "feeling fine" albeit in a lot of pain 24 hours a day.
How does he occupy his time? Watching every second of football he can. He says football is the best therapy and remains focused on playing again for the Chargers. Doctors are hopeful this will happen but it is too early to tell if he'll be able to do so. He is out for the season and has not been charged with any crime. His future, however, is highly uncertain.
What is certain is that Foley was shot three times in the left leg by an off-duty Coronado, Calif., police officer, Aaron Mansker, who was out of uniform and driving a civilian car. Mansker tried to pull Foley over on the suspicion of drunken driving, near the players' home.
According to police reports, at 3:30 a.m. Foley was driving erratically when Mansker began to follow him. After Mansker reportedly observed the vehicle weaving and its speed ranging from 30 mph to 90 mph, he ordered Foley to pull over at a red light, but Foley drove away in his restored 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. For nearly 30 miles, Mansker followed behind in his black Mazda, ordering Foley's car to pull over to no avail. Mansker called the California Highway Patrol, but was told no units were in the area.
Finally, when Foley reached his home, he emerged from the car and was confronted by Mansker.
According to a taped interview with investigators obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, Mansker said Foley, "kept coming toward me," and that he identified himself as a police officer and told Foley to stop before drawing his gun and firing a warning shot. But Foley kept nearing, and reached into his waistband.
"I thought for sure he's going to pull his gun and I'm gone," Mansker told investigators. He fired his gun several times and hit Foley three times, twice in the lower left leg and once in the thigh.
But Lisa Maree Gaut, who was Foley's passenger, offered a different account. She told investigators that she never heard Mansker identify himself as a police officer, and said she and Foley were under the belief that Foley was being followed because he is a professional athlete.
Gaut, too, has been charged with drunken driving and assault. Prosecutors say she got behind the wheel of Foley's car and tried to run Mansker down after the shooting. She is out on bail and faces up to five years in prison if convicted of all charges. Mansker is on administrative leave from the Coronado Police Department, pending the results of an investigation into the shooting. Foley is out for the season and to date, has not been charged with any crime. However, his blood alcohol level has been reported at .233, almost three times the .08 legal limit for driving in the state of California.
Foley's agent, attorney David Levine, noted that none of the player's wounds are frontal -- they are all on the side or back of his leg. Levine believes this means that Foley may not have been shot walking toward the officer, as has been alleged.
The Chargers placed Foley on the non-football injury list, which means he is allowed to be with the team (as opposed to a suspended player who is not) if he is healthy enough to be there. Foley has three years remaining on his contract and was scheduled to make $1.6 million in salary this year, including $875,000 that was paid in March as a roster bonus.
The team has until Oct. 17 or 18 to file a grievance seeking full return of that money. Levine believes that would be punitive but General Manager A.J. Smith said the team "has full right to go after it.
"A player is responsible to take care of his own personal business," said Smith, who said he was "disappointed" when he got the news of Foley's shooting.
Foley has not been receiving game checks and Smith said they have not yet decided if the player will be paid for this season. "Typically, for any practice or game, you're paid," said Smith. "Anything off the field, you're not paid."
Do the Chargers want Foley back? If actions speak louder than words, Foley had many visitors in the hospital including team President Dean Spanos and Smith.
"First we have to see if he's healthy," said Smith. "All players are evaluated at the end of the season with respect to on and off the field issues."
Spanos added, "Right now, the guy is in a wheelchair and we don't even know how he'll recover. And there are so many unresolved issues with this matter."
One unresolved issue is whether Foley would bring a civil action against the officer who shot him and the city of Coronado, which is responsible for the actions of its officer and has "deep pockets." One Charger front office executive said, "From what we hear, Foley could end up owning the city of Coronado."
And then there is the overall well-being of the player to consider. Foley was in the NFL drug program in 1999 when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals, for alcohol issues. He is said to not be in the substance abuse program for steroids, although the notion that this incident is some form of "roid rage" has been circulated by the prosecution. Agent Levine feels that is something the police threw out there as part of a smear campaign against his client. Meanwhile, all of Foley's rehab at the moment is physical -- he is not getting any treatment for a possible alcohol problem.
Meanwhile, in the beginning of September, the team reportedly brought in a member of the San Diego Sheriff's Department to speak to the players about the incident involving Foley.
Some teammates envision a scenario where Foley thought he was being carjacked and have defended his decision to not pull over for the officer. There is also the underlying question as to what role race may have played; would there have been more outrage than condemnation if the player who was shot was white, not black?
So amid the euphoria of a 3-1 start for the Chargers, it would seem easy to forget about Foley. His teammates haven't.
"You can replace him on the field," fellow linebacker Shawne Merriman said. "But he's such a great guy in the locker room. We really miss his presence and what he meant as a friend and teammate. It's just shocking what happened."
So while the Charger defense continues to dominate, Steve Foley sits home healing. Improvement is the goal for all, but a long season remains ahead for both.
Andrea Kremer is a reporter for NBC Sports. She can be reached at kremer@nbcuni.com
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NBCSports.com
San Diego Chargers starting linebacker Steve Foley, shot by an off-duty policeman Sept. 3, has undergone multiple surgeries since the controversial incident and cannot walk.
The 31-year-old was released from the hospital on Sept. 27 after least five surgical procedures. One of the bullets severed the main artery in his left leg and doctors had to graft a vein from his right leg to make sure the blood was flowing properly. (He also sustained a wound on his hand, which may be a grazing shot, but that is still unclear).
The 6-4 Foley is not suffering paralysis. He is being kept off his feet so he can heal and recover from extensive trauma. He performs rehab three times a week with a physical therapist at his home, getting manipulation to his leg to try to regain range of motion. He must use a walker to stand up during rehab. He has lost 20 pounds from his 265-pound frame.
Foley says he is "feeling fine" albeit in a lot of pain 24 hours a day.
How does he occupy his time? Watching every second of football he can. He says football is the best therapy and remains focused on playing again for the Chargers. Doctors are hopeful this will happen but it is too early to tell if he'll be able to do so. He is out for the season and has not been charged with any crime. His future, however, is highly uncertain.
What is certain is that Foley was shot three times in the left leg by an off-duty Coronado, Calif., police officer, Aaron Mansker, who was out of uniform and driving a civilian car. Mansker tried to pull Foley over on the suspicion of drunken driving, near the players' home.
According to police reports, at 3:30 a.m. Foley was driving erratically when Mansker began to follow him. After Mansker reportedly observed the vehicle weaving and its speed ranging from 30 mph to 90 mph, he ordered Foley to pull over at a red light, but Foley drove away in his restored 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. For nearly 30 miles, Mansker followed behind in his black Mazda, ordering Foley's car to pull over to no avail. Mansker called the California Highway Patrol, but was told no units were in the area.
Finally, when Foley reached his home, he emerged from the car and was confronted by Mansker.
According to a taped interview with investigators obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, Mansker said Foley, "kept coming toward me," and that he identified himself as a police officer and told Foley to stop before drawing his gun and firing a warning shot. But Foley kept nearing, and reached into his waistband.
"I thought for sure he's going to pull his gun and I'm gone," Mansker told investigators. He fired his gun several times and hit Foley three times, twice in the lower left leg and once in the thigh.
But Lisa Maree Gaut, who was Foley's passenger, offered a different account. She told investigators that she never heard Mansker identify himself as a police officer, and said she and Foley were under the belief that Foley was being followed because he is a professional athlete.
Gaut, too, has been charged with drunken driving and assault. Prosecutors say she got behind the wheel of Foley's car and tried to run Mansker down after the shooting. She is out on bail and faces up to five years in prison if convicted of all charges. Mansker is on administrative leave from the Coronado Police Department, pending the results of an investigation into the shooting. Foley is out for the season and to date, has not been charged with any crime. However, his blood alcohol level has been reported at .233, almost three times the .08 legal limit for driving in the state of California.
Foley's agent, attorney David Levine, noted that none of the player's wounds are frontal -- they are all on the side or back of his leg. Levine believes this means that Foley may not have been shot walking toward the officer, as has been alleged.
The Chargers placed Foley on the non-football injury list, which means he is allowed to be with the team (as opposed to a suspended player who is not) if he is healthy enough to be there. Foley has three years remaining on his contract and was scheduled to make $1.6 million in salary this year, including $875,000 that was paid in March as a roster bonus.
The team has until Oct. 17 or 18 to file a grievance seeking full return of that money. Levine believes that would be punitive but General Manager A.J. Smith said the team "has full right to go after it.
"A player is responsible to take care of his own personal business," said Smith, who said he was "disappointed" when he got the news of Foley's shooting.
Foley has not been receiving game checks and Smith said they have not yet decided if the player will be paid for this season. "Typically, for any practice or game, you're paid," said Smith. "Anything off the field, you're not paid."
Do the Chargers want Foley back? If actions speak louder than words, Foley had many visitors in the hospital including team President Dean Spanos and Smith.
"First we have to see if he's healthy," said Smith. "All players are evaluated at the end of the season with respect to on and off the field issues."
Spanos added, "Right now, the guy is in a wheelchair and we don't even know how he'll recover. And there are so many unresolved issues with this matter."
One unresolved issue is whether Foley would bring a civil action against the officer who shot him and the city of Coronado, which is responsible for the actions of its officer and has "deep pockets." One Charger front office executive said, "From what we hear, Foley could end up owning the city of Coronado."
And then there is the overall well-being of the player to consider. Foley was in the NFL drug program in 1999 when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals, for alcohol issues. He is said to not be in the substance abuse program for steroids, although the notion that this incident is some form of "roid rage" has been circulated by the prosecution. Agent Levine feels that is something the police threw out there as part of a smear campaign against his client. Meanwhile, all of Foley's rehab at the moment is physical -- he is not getting any treatment for a possible alcohol problem.
Meanwhile, in the beginning of September, the team reportedly brought in a member of the San Diego Sheriff's Department to speak to the players about the incident involving Foley.
Some teammates envision a scenario where Foley thought he was being carjacked and have defended his decision to not pull over for the officer. There is also the underlying question as to what role race may have played; would there have been more outrage than condemnation if the player who was shot was white, not black?
So amid the euphoria of a 3-1 start for the Chargers, it would seem easy to forget about Foley. His teammates haven't.
"You can replace him on the field," fellow linebacker Shawne Merriman said. "But he's such a great guy in the locker room. We really miss his presence and what he meant as a friend and teammate. It's just shocking what happened."
So while the Charger defense continues to dominate, Steve Foley sits home healing. Improvement is the goal for all, but a long season remains ahead for both.
Andrea Kremer is a reporter for NBC Sports. She can be reached at kremer@nbcuni.com
LINK