Attorney says, Deebo Samuel’s name cleared in Saloon incident

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — An attorney for Gamecocks wide receiver Deebo Samuel says his client should be cleared of any “wrong doing” in connection with an alleged assault on April 27 at a Columbia bar.

Attorney Neal Lourie, in a statement obtained Thursday afternoon by ABC Columbia, states “Mr. Samuel is innocent of all allegations surrounding the alleged assault at The Saloon on April 29, 2017. Our investigation has confirmed that he was not present and had no part in the alleged incident.”

According to the Columbia Police report, the situation in question allegedly happened at the Columbia bar, The Saloon, when a 24-year-old inside the bar told officers he approached three men inside the establishment after they knocked his phone from his hands. According to police, a verbal altercation ensued and escalated when the three men began “physically assaulting” the victim.

“I hope there will be a retraction with as strong a headline as the initial false report,” says Lourie after multiple media outlets reported Mr. Samuel’s involvement in the incident. ABC Columbia chose not to report any names associated with this story.

The investigation is ongoing. Please check back to www.abccolumbia.com for future updates.