Beason plans to fight assault charges, civil suit

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- A day after he was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges, Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason was named in a civil suit seeking punitive damages in excess of $10,000.

Gregory Frye, who accused Beason of punching him in the face on Nov. 15 at a downtown strip club, accused Beason of an unprovoked attack in the suit filed Tuesday at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

The suit alleges battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and contains charges that the incident began with Frye accusing Beason of cocaine use.

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Beason's attorney, George Laughrun, called the suit “fantasy land” and said Beason looked forward to going to court.

According to the lawsuit, Frye and Beason crossed paths at the Uptown Cabaret the night after the Panthers' win over Atlanta. The suit said that Frye mentioned to tight end Dante Rosario that he thought he saw Beason using cocaine at a party on Lake Norman last summer. After that, Beason's bodyguard approached Frye, indicating that the linebacker was upset. Beason then followed with what was described as an “obscenity-laced tirade.”

The suit then states that Frye wanted to go outside to talk about the disagreement, at which point Beason “hit him with a crushing right blow to his left eye/nose area,” which was followed by a kick to the ribs and at least one more punch.

The suit also said that Frye “never raised a hand in Beason's direction,” and was taken to the hospital with a crushed nasal cavity, deviated septum, facial fracture and swelling.

The civil suit was filed a day after a criminal charge was levied against Beason. The timing is unusual, as Frye is now available to give a deposition before the criminal case hits the court. It also raises the specter of a counter-suit for defamation, since Laughrun vehemently denied the charges of drug use. Beason has a scheduled first appearance on Jan. 11, at which he plans to plead not guilty to the criminal charges.

Laughrun said Tuesday that Beason has no interest in settling the case out of court.

“Absolutely not,” Laughrun said. “It's one thing to accuse Jon of assaulting him, which he didn't do. But accusing him of using cocaine with a girl on Lake Norman takes it to another level. Jon can't wait to clear his good name on these charges.”

FINGER UPDATE — Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme saw a specialist Tuesday for more tests on his broken right middle finger, and it doesn't appear he will be able to play this week.

Panthers coach John Fox said Monday that backup quarterback Matt Moore would take the snaps in practice today and is expected to start Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Delhomme's agent, Rick Smith, declined comment.

ROSTER MOVE — The Panthers added a more experienced special teams player to the roster Tuesday, signing linebacker Quinton Culberson.

Culberson was with the Rams each of the last three seasons but was cut after one game this year. He then signed with the United Football League and played for the Florida Tuskers.

Culberson, who went undrafted out of Mississippi State, has played in 31 career games, with 11 starts.

To make room on the roster, the Panthers waived linebacker Kelvin Smith. Smith had a knee injury, and if he goes through waivers, he would revert to the injured reserve list. He would be the ninth player on IR for the Panthers this year.