MINNEAPOLIS -- Randy Moss whistled his way out of jail -- and back into the Minnesota Vikings' starting lineup.
Facing a possible felony for assault, the star receiver was charged only with two misdemeanors Wednesday for allegedly pushing a traffic officer a half-block with his car Tuesday.
He spent the night in jail and faces a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on each of the charges -- careless driving and failure to obey a traffic officer. Deputy City Attorney Dana Banwer said Moss will be arraigned Oct. 2.
Police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington said the officer stepped in front of Moss' car to stop him from making an illegal turn. Moss slowly pushed her along the street, stopping when she fell.
Authorities considered charging Moss with felony assault, but county attorney Amy Klobuchar said there wasn't enough evidence that Moss intended to hurt the officer to support the charge.
Barrington said 27-year-old Amy Zaccardi -- a city employee but not a police officer -- was not seriously hurt. One witness called the situation "surreal." Another said he didn't believe Moss intended to hurt Zaccardi.
"I was really confused about what I was supposed to do," Moss said as he left jail Wednesday.
Whistling as he walked through a pack of reporters, he refused to discuss the arrest further, saying, "You'll hear about it later."
Robert Nelson, a witness, said, Moss "was going really slow. Apparently, he didn't want to hurt her. I think he was just trying to frighten her into moving."
Police also said they found a small quantity of marijuana in Moss' car, an amount that would qualify as a petty misdemeanor, but no charge was immediately filed.
Moss' agent, Dante DiTrapano, said the marijuana didn't belong to his client.
Coach Mike Tice said Moss will start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks but will be disciplined for missing Wednesday morning's practice. Tice didn't specify the punishment.
"I'm still disappointed," Tice said. "This doesn't change the fact that we've been dealing with this for the last 24 hours, that I slept very little last night and I ate a half a jar of Maalox."
Tice said Moss apologized to his teammates and coaches after practice Wednesday. "You hate to see this stuff happen to him because he's a good guy," said defensive tackle Chris Hovan. "He's respected in this locker room."
The NFL could be less forgiving. Under NFL rules, Moss will undergo mandatory "evaluation" because he was charged. Any disciplinary action would follow a conviction or guilty plea.
 | |
| Randy Moss whistles his way through a media pack as he leaves jail Wednesday. (AP) |
He also verbally abused corporate sponsors on the team bus in 2001. The last infraction resulted in the team fining him $15,000 and forcing him to attend anger management classes.
Moss had problems on and off the field before he even got into the NFL.
He had a scholarship revoked by Notre Dame in 1995 after being charged with beating up a high school classmate in Rand, W.Va. Moss pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was allowed to defer most of the sentence until after his freshman year in college.
He went to Florida State, where he redshirted his freshman season but was kicked off the team for violating probation by smoking marijuana. That got him a one-year jail sentence, which was reduced to about one month of time served.
Virtually out of chances, Moss walked on at Marshall and quickly became a star.
Moss, in his fifth year with the Vikings, became the team's highest-paid player last season when he signed an eight-year, $75 million contract.
Moss set an NFL record with 5,396 yards receiving in his first four seasons as a pro and is the only wide receiver with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first four seasons. Moss has scored more touchdowns since his 1998 debut than anyone except St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2002, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
BGHAWK 
