Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darius Philon was arrested Friday morning on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly threatening to shoot a woman outside of a strip club. According to TMZ, the incident occurred weeks earlier, but the alleged victim waited before ultimately going to the Phoenix Police Department.
According to the report, Philon is accused of pointing a handgun at a dancer in the parking lot of VLive Strip Club. The incident allegedly took place on May 17 around 2:15 a.m. The victim said that she and another dancer accompanied Philon to his white BMW so that he could pay them. However, he instead allegedly grabbed a handgun and pointed it at the victim’s chest. He ultimately lowered the handgun and drove away from the strip club.
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However, the story did not end with this one incident. Philon allegedly returned to the strip club the following night and told the victim that he wanted to make things right before asking her to leave with him. Per TMZ, she says that she denied the request and attempted to walk away, but Philon grabbed her arm and prevented her from leaving. Ultimately, she was able to get away and returned to work, but the defensive end followed her around for an estimated 30 minutes.
Following his arrest, the Cardinals released a statement, saying that they were aware of the situation and had informed the league office. The team released Philon six hours after releasing the statement, ending his time with the team mere months after signing a two-year, $10 million contract.
“We are aware of the situation and very serious allegations involving Darius Philon,” The Cardinals said in a statement, per NFL.com. We have informed the National Football League as required by the league’s Personal Conduct Policy and will comment further when appropriate.”
Following the release of Philon, the Cardinals elevated rookie Zach Allen to a starting role. The third-round pick was expected to contribute as part of the rotation, but he will now be a key contributor for Arizona.
This trip to Arizona was supposed to be Philon’s first tenure in the NFC West after being selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Chargers. He spent four seasons with the Bolts and tallied 80 combined tackles and 9.5 sacks. Now, however, he will await his fate from the legal system while a rookie serves as a top defensive end in the Cardinals defense.
