NFL analyst Mark Sanchez arrested while he was hospitalized with stab wounds

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was arrested Saturday after he was apparently stabbed in an overnight altercation in downtown Indianapolis.

Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Raiders-Colts game, was charged with battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication — all misdemeanors.

Indianapolis police said Sanchez was in a hospital and had not been booked into a detention center. He was in stable condition, according to Fox Sports.

Police said the Marion County prosecutor’s office would make the final charging decision. That office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press.

Indianapolis police said earlier in the day that they were investigating a confrontation that occurred around 12:30 a.m. Saturday between two men, one of whom was hospitalized with stab wounds. The other man received treatment for lacerations, police said.

Detectives had reviewed video footage of the confrontation, which police said occurred in the popular downtown nightlife Wholesale District next to the Indiana statehouse.

Police said neither man was a local resident and called it an “isolated incident between the two men and not a random act of violence.”

Few other details were available.

“We are deeply grateful to the medical team for their exceptional care and support. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, and we ask that everyone please respect his and his family’s privacy during this time,” Fox Sports said.

Sanchez, 38, had a 10-year NFL career before retiring in 2019. He appeared on ABC and ESPN for two years before joining Fox Sports as a game analyst in 2021.

The Long Beach, California, native starred at Southern California before he was selected by the New York Jets with the fifth pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

He passed for 3,207 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading the Trojans to a 12-1 record during his junior year, which included a victory over Penn State in the 2009 Rose Bowl.

He spent four seasons with the Jets, starting each of his 62 games while throwing for 12,092 yards and 68 touchdowns with 69 interceptions. The Jets lost in the AFC championship in each of Sanchez’s first two years in the league.

Sanchez also appeared in games with Philadelphia, Dallas and Washington. He finished his playing career with 15,357 yards passing, 86 TD passes and 89 interceptions.

The Jets and several of Sanchez's former teammates posted message of support on social media on Saturday.

“Sending our thoughts and love to Mark Sanchez and his family. Hoping for a speedy recovery, 6,” the Jets said, using Sanchez's former jersey number.

“Send prayers up for my former teammate mark.. sucks so much to see this,” Kerry Rhodes wrote.

“So sad. Pray for his recovery,” Nick Mangold wrote.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Mark Sanchez walks on the field before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)

FILE - Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) watches from the bench with passing game coordinator Kevin O'Connell, center, and quarterback Josh Johnson (8) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez warms up before an NFL football game between the Jets and the Tennessee Titans on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2009, file photo, Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) holds up the trophy as he celebrates with teammates Kaluka Maiava, left, and Damian Williams (18) after USC beat Penn State 38-24 in the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, right, talks with quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) before an NFL football game between the Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — Benin President Patrice Talon on Sunday condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the country's army in his first public comments since sporadic gunfire was heard in parts of the administrative capital, Cotonou.

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin ’s state TV earlier Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup, which would have been the latest of many in West Africa. The group called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation.

Later, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou announced in a video on Facebook that the attempted coup had been “foiled,” but Talon, whose location was unclear, did not comment.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the victims of this senseless adventure, as well as to those still being held by the fleeing mutineers,” the president said in a televised address to the nation that ended his silence. "I assure them that we will do everything in our power to find them safe and sound.”

The coup attempt is the latest in a string of military takeovers and attempted takeovers that have rocked West Africa. Last month, a military coup in Guinea-Bissau removed former President Umaro Embalo after a contested election in which both he and the opposition candidate declared themselves winners.

Talon did not provide figures on casualties or hostages in Sunday's attempted coup.

“In the early morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny to destabilize the state and its institutions,” Seidou said. “Faced with this situation, the Beninese Armed Forces and their leadership, true to their oath, remained committed to the republic.”

The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, said it ordered the deployment of troops from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana to support Benin's army to “preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin.”

ECOWAS earlier called the attempted coup “a subversion of the will of the people of Benin.”

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu praised the Nigerian armed forces for their involvement in restoring the government in Benin. In a statement by the Nigerian government's spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga said Benin's government made two separate requests for air and ground forces.

“It took some hours before the government’s loyal forces, assisted by Nigeria, took control and flushed out the coup plotters from the National TV,” Onanuga said in the statement.

Local media reported the arrest of 13 soldiers who took part in the coup earlier on Sunday, citing sources close to the presidency. It remained unclear if Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, the coup leader, had been apprehended. Gunfire was heard and soldiers were seen patrolling in some locations in Cotonou, but the city has been relatively calm since the coup attempt was announced.

The Military Committee for Refoundation earlier said that Tigri was appointed president of the military committee.

Following its independence from France in 1960, the West African nation witnessed multiple coups. Since 1991, the country has been politically stable following the two-decade rule of Marxist-Leninist Mathieu Kérékou.

The signal to the state television and public radio, which was cut off, was later restored.

Talon has been in power since 2016 and is due to step down next April after a presidential election.

Talon’s party pick, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is the favorite to win the election. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.

In January, two associates of Talon were sentenced to 20 years in prison for an alleged 2024 coup plot.

Last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, keeping the term limit at two.

——

Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

People gather near a roadway amid an attempted coup in Cotonou, Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

People on motorcycles pass by soldiers guarding a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

Soldiers ride in a military vehicle along a street amid an attempted coup in Cotonou Benin, Sunday Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

FILE - Benin's President Patrice Talon attends a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)