Joe Staysniak, a former Indianapolis Colts player and radio host, was arrested. According to Court TV, he is charged with strangulation and domestic battery. The incident stemmed from a confrontation with his son and his son’s boyfriend. A neighbor notified Staysniak to “suspicious car” in his front yard, sparking him to go check it out. Documents state that Staysniak allegedly punched both of the men, choking his son’s boyfriend and brandishing a firearm. He denied hitting his son’s boyfriend, but admits he did grab him by the hoodie “to get his attention.” He also says he brandished a gun, but never pointed it at the men, and that his son “tried to attack” him. Staysniak’s wife stopped the confrontation.
According to the documents obtained by The New York Post, Staysniak’s son Lucas told police “that his father opened the rear right passenger door and that when he did his he [sic] grabbed [passenger’s] hood and was choking him. Lucas stated that his father then punched him, causing his lip to bleed, and then punched [passenger]. Lucas stated that his father then displayed a firearm and told he and [passenger] that they’re lucky he saw who it was.”
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Staysniak played football for Ohio State. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He didn’t play any games for the Chargers.
Instead, he made his NFL debut for the Bills in 1991. He was traded to the Chiefs, where he played for a year. He then played three years for the Colts. He started in 33 of the 63 games he played. Staysniak retired in 1996 after a year with the Arizona Cardinals.
After his NFL career, he turned to broadcast radio. Staysniak was the co-host of a weekday morning sports radio talk show, The Jeff and Big Joe Show, on 1070 the fan, as well as 93.5 FM in Indianapolis.
