Mark Sanchez Fired by Fox Sports After Arrest Related to Stabbing Incident

Mark Sanchez has been fired by Fox Sports after he was arrested in a dramatic stabbing incident last month.

“We can confirm that Mark Sanchez is no longer with the network,” a Fox Sports spokesperson told Us Weekly on Friday, November 7. “There will be no further comment at this time.”

Sanchez, 38, was arrested on October 4, while the former NFL quarterback was in Indianapolis to broadcast the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders for Fox Sports the following day.

The former New York Jets star allegedly attacked a delivery driver named Perry Tole, over the location of his parked box truck in the alley near a popular Indianapolis bar. 

Sanchez and Tole, 69, engaged in a physical altercation, which saw Sanchez stabbed multiple times and Tole sustain a major gash to his face. 

Both men were transported to a local hospital with their injuries, where Sanchez was ultimately arrested. 

Sanchez was initially charged with three misdemeanors in connection to the incident: battery resulting in injury, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.

Prosecutors added a felony 5 charge to the list of offenses against Sanchez on October 6, which carries a penalty of one to five years in prison. Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The writing had been on the wall about Sanchez’s future at the network after The Athletic reported on Wednesday, November 5 that former NFL quarterback Drew Brees had been hired by Fox Sports as a new analyst, effectively taking Sanchez’s job. 

Sanchez had worked as a television analyst for Fox Sports since 2021. 

At a pretrial hearing on October 22, Sanchez’s attorney said his client was still in the process of healing up from the incident. 

“He’s still recovering from the injuries he sustained and the medical intervention,” Tim Delaney said inside a Marion County, Indiana, courtroom.

Delaney said Sanchez’s recovery process is “ongoing” and “may impact some of the dates” as the case against him moves forward. 

Judge James B. Osborn set a final pretrial hearing for December 2 before the jury trial begins on December 11. 

Sanchez broke his silence about his arrest and injuries outside the Marion County Jail in Indianapolis on October 12. 

“Right now, I’m just focused on my recovery,” Sanchez said in an interview with Fox59 News and CBS 4 Indy. “I just wanted to thank the first responders, Eskenazi Hospital. I just want to thank Dr. [Lindsey] Mossler, the surgeon. She saved my life, so I’m grateful for that.”

Both Sanchez and Fox Corporation were named in a lawsuit filed by Tole on October 6, seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs and expenses of this action, including attorney’s fees and any other relief that the court deems just and proper. 

Tole sustained “serious bodily injury” due to Sanchez’s “malicious, willful, wanton or grossly negligent conduct,” according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit also claimed Tole suffered severe “permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress and other damages.”