Not everything is about the Benjamins. Yesterday evening, hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs had to post $160,000 in bail to walk out of jail after getting arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, among other charges, at UCLA. Combs’ son plays football for the school, and Combs reportedly grew irate over the way a coach was yelling at him during training. According to staffers who call Combs a “helicopter dad,” he allegedly struck Sal Alosi and then threatened Alosi and other staffers with a kettlebell — which turns out to be the dangerous weapon:
Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs was released on bail Monday night, hours after being arrested for allegedly assaulting UCLA assistant football coach Sal Alosi with a kettlebell over an incident involving his son, who is a redshirt junior defensive back for the Bruins.
Combs was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of battery after a dispute over Justin Combs allegedly escalated in the coach’s office at the Acosta Athletic Training Center shortly after noon PDT. (Kettlebells, usually made of cast iron, are round weights of varying sizes that have a handle attached.)
At first, Combs’ representatives had no comment. Later, they sent their version of the incident to TMZ. In it, Combs came to UCLA for a discussion with Alosi about a personality conflict with his son, and it was Alosi who flipped out:
Our Diddy sources say the coach would not see him and staff told him to leave … but Diddy went to Alosi’s office instead where Alosi told him to get out and threatened to call security if he didn’t leave.
We’re told Diddy said, “Fine, I’ll call police” … and Alosi snapped — going after Diddy with his hands.
We’re told Diddy insists he grabbed a kettlebell and held it up in a defensive position … but did not attack with an intent to injure the coach.
Er … seems legit, no? TMZ’s original report indicated that the entire incident had been caught on video. If that’s the case, then we should know pretty quickly which side is telling the truth. The fact that three counts of assault have been added to the one count of assault with a deadly weapon makes it seem as though the reports of multiple victims have some credence. It’s worth noting, as TMZ does, that Alosi’s most well known for this 2010 incident as a New York Jets coach in a game against division rival Miami Dolphins:
This play happened with 2:58 left in the third quarter, when the Dolphins punted to Jets receiver Santonio Holmes(notes). As Holmes took the ball for a short return, cornerback Nolan Carroll(notes) was hurt on the right sideline as he rushed down to cover the play. The replay showed strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi extending his knee just enough to trip Carroll up on the play. Carroll was down for a minute, but returned to play later in the game.
Alosi offered multiple apologies for his conduct, but got suspended by the league and eventually let go by the Jets. So, it’s not as if either of the main parties in this case has an exemplary public record of mature judgment.
So what’s next? If the video corroborates Combs’ version, one will imagine that the legal charges will get dropped, and so will Justin Combs from the Bruins. If the video corroborates Alosi’s version of events, one will imagine that … the legal charges will get dropped, as will Justin Combs from the Bruins. No one expects Combs to go to trial over this even if he did do this, do they? At worst, he’ll go get some anger-management classes (which may not be a bad idea), and his son will look for another team. He’d have to forgo his full scholarship to UCLA, which already raised a few eyebrows considering the wealth his family has, but the LA Times reports that he also had scholarship offers from Illinois, Virginia, and Wyoming. They’d probably be happy to extend another offer for a full ride, but it may come with the caveat that his father stay away from practices.
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