Willie McGinest, Super Bowl Champ, Arrested In Night Club Assault

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — NFL broadcast analyst, former NFL linebacker, and three-time Super Bowl champion Willie McGinest turned himself into the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Monday in connection with an assault at a West Hollywood nightclub, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

As of Monday morning, McGinest, who grew up in Southern California before playing for the New England Patriots, was in the custody of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. The alleged assault occurred Dec. 9 in a nightclub in the 7900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, the sheriff's department reported.

"Witnesses identified former NFL player Willie Lee McGinest Jr. as being one of the individuals involved in the incident," according to a sheriff's department statement. "On December 19, 2022, Mr. McGinest arrived at the West Hollywood sheriff's station to provide a statement regarding the incident," after which he was arrested.

Bail was set at $30,000.

McGinest, 51, was taken into custody about 7 a.m. Monday, according to a sergeant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's West Hollywood Station.

The alleged crime occurred about two weeks ago in the 7900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, the sergeant said. Other details were not released.

The arrest was first reported by TMZ.com.

McGinest played in the National Football League for 15 years, most of them with the New England Patriots, where he was a three-time Super Bowl champion. He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School and played at USC. He was a first-round draft pick in 1994, and he was inducted into the Patriot's Hall of Fame in 2015.

After retiring, he has served as an analyst for NFL Network, Fox Sports and ESPN.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.