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Mark Sanchez's trial for allegedly attacking a truck driver that led to the ex-NFL quarterback being stabbed has been moved to next year.
Both Sanchez and the truck driver, 69-year-old Perry Tole, were hospitalized with injuries from the October 5 incident. Sanchez was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds to his upper right torso, according to a police affidavit.
He was scheduled to be on trial on December 11 in Indianapolis but now, according to Los Angeles Magazine, it has been delayed and will now be held on March 12, 2026.
According to the publication, the delay was granted after a request from Sanchez's legal teamwhich did not cite a reason. A pre-trial hearing is also set to be held on March 3.
Sanchez, 39, was said to still be recovering from the injuries he sustained while an October 22 hearing was held in his absence due to his recovery - ahead of a trial where Sanchez will face a felony battery charge, along with several misdemeanor charges.
He was in Indianapolis in his role as an NFL analyst for Fox, where he was set to cover Indianapolis Colts vs Las Vegas Raiders.
Mark Sanchez, with wife Perry Mattfield, will now face a trial in Indianapolis next March
The ex-NFL quarterback has officially been fired by Fox Sports after his arrest
Sanchez has since been fired by Fox, with another former NFL quarterback in Drew Brees taking his place with the broadcaster.
‘We knew it had to happen. So many people get fired around here, if they had kept him on, that would have sent a message to us that we aren’t as important as him,' a Fox insider told the Daily Mail earlier in November when Sanchez's departure was confirmed.
'It would have sent the wrong message. Also we haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since it happened, so we knew what was up.
'He had to go. I don’t think anyone is cheering exactly, but we are like “yeah, this was the right call.” And we move on.’
A police affidavit alleges that Sanchez, smelling of alcohol, accosted Tole, who had backed his truck into a hotel's loading docks in downtown Indianapolis on October 4.
Tole claims in a lawsuit that Sanchez entered the truck without permission, then physically blocked and shoved Tole, who then doused Sanchez with pepper spray.
When Sanchez advanced after being sprayed, Tole pulled a knife to defend himself, authorities said.
A picture of Tole that circulated online following the incident showed him in a neck brace on a hospital bed, covered in blood with a deep slash to the side of his face.
The trucker, who has claimed self-defense and has not been charged, is also suing Sanchez and Fox Sports for unspecified damages.
On October 12, Sanchez was briefly booked in Indianapolis having left hospital. His mugshot was taken and as he left the jail, spoke briefly with a reporter. He is on bail ahead of trial.
