Alabama star and potential top-10 draft pick Reuben Foster was sent home early from the NFL combine on Friday night after getting into what was described as “a heated argument” with a hospital worker. Very early on Saturday morning, more details about the incident emerged, per Robert Klemko of The MMQB.
Adding some detail to Reuben Foster incident which led to his dismissal from combine, per source...
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) March 4, 2017
Foster grew impatient with long line for exams... pulled the 'do you know who I am?' card.
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) March 4, 2017
A male hospital employee, unimpressed, told him he would wait like everyone else.
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) March 4, 2017
Foster warned the man that he'd put hands on him, and the employee said, simply, Do it.
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) March 4, 2017
That's when the "face to face, heated exchange" happened, as Schefter reported.
— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) March 4, 2017
(Bryan Broaddus of Cowboys.com notes that Foster likely had a long day waiting for his MRI.)
Foster was told to leave as a result of the exchange and did not participate in team interviews on Friday evening. As our Adam Silverstein noted on Friday night, Foster will miss additional team meetings and psychological testing as well as the bench press and on-field workout portions of the combine, though he was not expected to participate in physical activities due to recent rotator cuff surgery.
He will presumably meet with teams at Alabama’s Pro Day, which takes place on Wednesday, March 8. Foster is rated as the No. 1 inside linebacker and No. 7 overall player in the 2017 draft class, according to CBS Sports and NFLDraftScout.com, but his conduct at the combine could send him tumbling down the draft board if he does not come up with an adequate explanation when he meets with NFL teams.