New Orleans Saints starting safety Marcus Maye was arrested Thursday over an alleged road rage incident.
Maye was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm in Metairie, Louisiana, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
He was released after he paid a $30,000 bail, but he was not seen at Saints practice on Thursday.
In a statement shared on Facebook, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detailed the allegations against Maye.
“Maye was identified as the driver of a black SUV that was involved in an incident in which he is accused of pointing a firearm at another vehicle that was occupied by several juvenile females,” the statement said.
Eric Hessler, Maye’s attorney, said in a statement Maye denied the allegations against him.
“Marcus vehemently denies the allegation from a motor vehicle incident and looks forward to defending himself when all the facts come out,” the statement said, TMZ reported.
Do pro-athletes think they are above the law?
First-year head coach Dennis Allen said the Saints organization was told about the arrest, but he did not provide further details.
“Nothing really other than we were made aware of it this morning,” Allen said when asked if he had a comment on the arrest.
“And we’re still gathering all the information, and so we’re really not going to have a comment on it at this time until we get more information.”
Here’s what Dennis Allen had to say about Marcus Maye. Effectively a no-comment for now. #Saints pic.twitter.com/WWut7NOJ8h
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) September 1, 2022
Maye was previously arrested on Feb. 22, 2021, for allegedly driving under the influence, damaging property and leaving the scene of the crash, ESPN reported. His Aug. 24 court date was continued until Nov. 16, and he could still face discipline from the NFL for that arrest.
New Orleans was already facing significant uncertainty this season, especially at the safety position. In addition to elevating Allen from defensive coordinator to head coach and naming two new co-defensive coordinators, the team lost both starting safeties from last season.
Marcus Williams signed a five-year, $70 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, CBS Sports reported, while Malcolm Jenkins retired from the NFL.
The Saints hoped Maye would fill one of those holes, and they signed him to a three-year, $28.5 million contract in March, ESPN reported.
Maye’s mounting legal troubles now cast even more doubt on the Saints’ secondary for the upcoming season.
