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Albert Haynesworth Road Rage Leads to Assault Charge

By Jason Beahm | Last updated on

Albert Haynesworth has been a busy guy this year -- just not on the football field. He only had 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 8 games. Not good for a guy with a $100-million-dollar contract. Haynesworth, 29, spent most of the season feuding with coach Mike Shannahan. And now we learn that he was fueding with a follow motorist in a Washington D.C., suburb.

The Albert Haynesworth road rage case has the NFL star accused of assault for allegedly punching a motorist in the face. Haynesworth allegedly hit Joel Velazques, 38, of Leesburg, Va. in the nose. According to Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, he has yet to speak with police or prosecutors regarding the incident, ESPN reports.

Velazques allegedly gave Haynesworth a "non-verbal hand gesture" (AKA the finger) to Haynesworth. That certainly doesn't make it legal to punch Velazques, although how nuts do you have to be to flick off an NFL defensive tackle? It's like flipping the Incredible Hulk the bird!

The Albert Haynesworth road rage incident went down after Haynesworth and Velazques vehicles fought for the same road space, Velazques told ESPN. He further said that Haynesworth drove off in a Ford F-150 truck with Tennessee license plates after the incident.

Not surprisingly, Speck had a different view of the incident:

"Only one side of this story has been told at this point in time," Speck said. "This man, who actually provoked the situation himself, recognized Albert and is now simply trying to turn it into his 15 minutes of fame and get, we can only assume, some money ... Albert did not assault this man and looks forward to his day in court to refute these ridiculous allegations."

Assault is an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact. Haynesworth has been charged with simple assault, which has a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a fine of $2,500 or less. In reality, it is unlikely that Haynesworth will serve any actual jail time.

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