Former Ohio State defensive end, current Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Mike Vrabel, was arrested for theft at about 5:30 a.m. Monday at Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in Florence, Ind. He was released nearly five hours later on $600 bond.
Several media outlets have confirmed the incident, which was first reported by Pro Football Talk.
According to KMBC 9, an ABC affiliate in Kansas City, Vrabel “was observed by an enforcement agent taking the bottles of alcohol from a deli without paying for them.”
Vrabel later issued a statement to Pro Football Talk through his agent, calling the matter an “unfortunate misunderstanding” that will be resolved after “talking with the appropriate parties.”
Theft, regardless of the value of the item, carries a felony charge in the state of Indiana. Vrabel was charged with a Class D felony, punishable by a six-month to three-year jail sentence, along with a fine of up to $10,000.
Vrabel, a member of the NFL Players Association executive committee, is one of 10 plaintiffs due to appear Wednesday in a Minneapolis court as part of an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. The lawsuit is the result of the NFLPA and NFL agreeing to terms directly related to the ongoing NFL labor negotiations.
Vrabel was born in Akron, Ohio, and attended high school in Cuyahoga Falls. He won Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year in both 1995 and 1996, the only Buckeye ever to win the award twice, and the only Big Ten player ever to win the award outright twice.
He was drafted in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and later won three Super Bowls as a member of the New England Patriots.
