Former Arizona Coyotes Player, Paul Bissonnette, Assaulted at Scottsdale Restaurant
Former Arizona Coyotes player, Paul Bissonnette, was assaulted by six men at a Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant on Nov. 24. Police say he attempted to help restaurant management calm an altercation when it got out of hand. His injuries are believed to not be life-threatening, police say.
One of the men arrested reportedly had a fraudulent military ID on his person.
Sean M. Daley was one of the six men Scottsdale Police arrested for their role in the alleged assault on Bissonnette at Houston’s restaurant on Sunday night.
The assault comes in the wake of a National Hockey League player poll that revealed an epidemic of harassment against players tied to losing prop bets or poor performances leading to failed covers.
“Oh, almost every day,” one goaltender said of the harassment. “Honestly, I’d say 75 percent of them are them being mad about something. ‘How did you let in that late goal? I had the under. Thanks a lot. You f—ing suck.’ Things like that constantly. I feel like, as a goalie, we’re a little bit more exposed to it, too.”
“Together with a couple death threats and a few other things,” another player added.
Perhaps the biggest revelation from The Athletic’s anonymous player poll was how common the Venmo requests are.
“They’re demands, not requests,” one player clarified. “’You owe me $200 because you were on the ice when …’ and it’s insane. It’s really bad when you play against Toronto because it seems like everybody is betting on Leafs games. But that’s Toronto for you.”
“I’ve been sent Venmo requests before,” one NHL player surveyed in The Athletic’s player poll said. “Like, ‘Hey, I bet on you guys to win and you blew it. So give me back my 50 bucks.’”
That player said he found it “comical.”
“I think I paid one guy back once,” he said with a laugh. “Sent him like 20 bucks.”
The Nov. 24 assault of Bissonnette occurred at Houston’s restaurant near McDonald Drive and Scottsdale Road around 7:30 p.m.
"There was an altercation inside the restaurant with six adult men and the management. Reportedly, Paul Bissonnette tried to help management calm the men and get them to leave. The situation escalated to the men assaulting Paul Bissonnette both inside and outside of the restaurant," Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis said.
"I said ‘listen guy, if you keep harassing and assaulting the staff, we’re going to go outside and have some problems.’ The minute that left my mouth, the guys starts swinging, and the next thing you know, four guys start swinging at me," said Bissonnette, during the podcast episode. "I ate three kicks: one in the neck two in the head. Was able to get up, and at this point now, I have no shoes on. I got my pants, no shirt. I’m finally able to run into CVS, and they didn’t come into CVS. Thankfully, the cops were called right away."
As for Bissonnette's injuries, Scottsdale Police did not detail the severity outside of not being life-threatening.
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