Chargers player Phillips cited in Ivy Hotel punchout
By Debbi Baker Union-Tribune Staff Writer, Kevin Acee Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Originally published 4:18 p.m. April 27, 2009, updated 6:59 p.m., April 27, 2009
Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips was cited for misdemeanor battery early Saturday morning after a security guard at a rooftop bar in downtown San Diego said the linebacker hit him in the face, police said.
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It was the second time this month that Phillips, 27, was involved in a battery incident, police said.
Officers said that on April 11, a security guard at the Stingaree club on Sixth Avenue said Phillips choked and punched him. The guard reported the incident several hours later.
Phillips was named as a suspect but was not arrested or cited, Muñoz said.
James Brennan, owner of the Stingaree, said Monday that the April 11 incident was "blown way out of proportion" and involved Shaun Phillips'brother, not Phillips. He said the security guard has since "recanted" his statement to police that he was assaulted.
"After speaking with our security guard, he agreed that he was maybe a little out of line on what his memory was of how the incident took place, and he has since dropped the charges and moved on," Brennan said.
Phillips on Monday denied having anything to do with the incident at the Ivy.
"It was somebody else's mishap. It had nothing to do with me or my teammates," Phillips said.
He confirmed that he received a citation and said the officer was "just doing his job based on one person's account."
"There is video of the whole thing, and it won't show me anywhere in the vicinity," Phillips said.