Former University of Miami and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp remained silent Sunday morning as he appeared before a bond court judge in Miami.
Sapp was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, according to Det. Juan Sanchez of the Miami Beach Police Department.
During the Sunday morning hearing, bond was set at $15 hundred and Judge Yvonne Kolodny ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim. Sapp's attorney Christopher Lyons said his client "sincerely apologize to the NFL family and friends for causing any distraction from today's big game. He asks everyone to reserve judgment in this case until all the facts come out in court." When asked if the apology extended to the alleged victim, Lyons only repeated that "the facts will come out in court."
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After posting the required bail, Sapp left the jaill just before 11 a.m.
The arrest prompted swift action by the NFL, who removed Sapp from NFL Network broadcasts while the league investigates the matter.
Sapp who was a runner up on the TV show Dancing with the Stars was picked up on Saturday at the Shore Club at 1901 Collins Avenue.
Sanchez said Sapp is accused of beating up his girlfriend while the two were at the Shore Club on Saturday around 5 a.m. She called police and Sapp turned himself into the Miami Beach Police Department.
"The victim called the police at noon. We approached Mr. Sapp at the hotel and he voluntarily came back to the police department for questioning, which subsequently led to the arrest for misdemeanor domestic battery," Sanchez said.
In an arrest affidavit released Saturday night, the woman told police that she and Sapp had been dating for the past two years. She was partying with him at the Shore Club and asked him for the room key so that she could get some sleep.
The woman, who police did not identify, told police that Sapp came into the room hours later and "then started arguing with her in reference to some guys that she was hanging out with earlier."
According to her statement to police, Sapp then "grabbed the (woman's) phone and questioned her about guys that she had listed on her phone. The argument again became heated and (Sapp) picked [her] up by the shirt and neck and then threw her back down. [The woman] landed on her leg and she felt a sharp pain."
But Sapp told police he had come into the room to ask her to leave because he was expecting company. He told police he was trying to help her get off the couch but she fell backward "and fell on her leg," Sapp told police.
The woman was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach.
The NFL Network released the following statement on Mr. Sapp: "We were made aware this afternoon of the arrest of Warren Sapp by the Miami Police Department (sic). In light of these circumstances, Warren Sapp will not appear on NFL Network while we review the matter."
Meanwhile Chad Fabrikant, a spokesperson for the Shore Club said: "We take this very seriously and are fully cooperating with authorities."
It's the second incident to cast the NFL Network in a bad light during Super Bowl week. On Friday, CBS4 learned that Sapp's fellow analyst, and fellow UM grad, Michael Irvin was being sued by a woman who claimed Irvin raped her.
Irvin has filed a counter-suit claiming he is the victim of civil extortion.