Smith punches Lucas in eye, melee ensues

SPARTANBURG -- The harmony and productivity of Carolina Panthers training camp was shattered on Friday when two high-profile stars engaged in a sideline brawl.

Wide receiver Steve Smith and cornerback Ken Lucas were involved, although before the incident was over, half the team and many staffers were in the fray trying to separate the pair.

"We had an altercation that will be dealt with internally, that will be all I will comment on at this time," coach John Fox said after the morning practice. "I think any time something like that happens, you're obviously disappointed. It's part of football and you deal with it."

Smith nor Lucas were available for comment, with team spokesmen saying they simply were "not here."

Team officials did not update Lucas' condition. Calls to agent Bus Cook -- who is also Brett Favre's agent -- weren't returned.

But two team sources with knowledge of the situation said that Lucas' injuries were not as serious as previously feared. When he returns remains unclear.

Smith's agent, Derrick Fox, said he spoke with his client as he left campus -- to attend to a pre-arranged family matter in Charlotte.

"He said he made a big mistake," the agent said. "Obviously, there needs to be punishment, but we don't know what that will be yet."

This is the third-such incident involving Smith. In 2002, he was involved in a fight with rookie wide receiver Guilian Gary, who left camp after the incident. Later that year came the more-publicized punching of wideout Anthony Bright during a film session. That one resulted in a civil lawsuit, which was settled out of court.

While Smith will certainly be fined, he also faces the possibility of suspension. He was suspended one game without pay in 2002 for the Bright incident.

The Panthers have come down hard on their own players in recent years. Last summer, offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges was suspended for the first two games of the season after being arrested for waving a gun at a stripper the night before he reported to camp. That suspension was announced the same day the story broke, long before the case went to trial.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, the most a team can suspend a player for conduct detrimental to the team is four games.

Friday's altercation had its roots in a team practice drill when Lucas was covering Smith.

According to two people who were standing on the sideline, Smith was complaining that Lucas was grabbing him and clutching his jersey throughout the play, and Lucas was angry because Smith clubbed him in the back in retaliation.

Both went to the sideline after the play, and the jawing continued back and forth. Then with Lucas on one knee, Smith rose and punched him in the face, triggering the scrum.

Pro personnel director Mark Koncz was among the first to try to break it up, but he was quickly thrown out of the way. Linebacker Jon Beason eventually pulled Smith out of a pile of teammates, some of which seemed ready to get back at Smith.

When the players were finally separated, Lucas was taken to the tent between practice fields to be tended to by assistant trainer Reggie Scott. At the same time, Fox was angrily scolding Smith as practice continued.

As Lucas was later carted off the field, he was holding a bag of ice over his left eye.

While Lucas was still under the tent, Smith went over -- accompanied by wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

"Steve was probably a little remorseful for what happened and was trying to apologize," Muhammad said. "I was walking with him, just to be there."

After that, Smith adjourned to the next practice field over, where he talked with kicker John Kasay for a few moments. Kasay's one of his trusted advisors on the team. Smith then went to the tent, where team chaplain Mike Bunkley stood with him. Before practice ended, general manager Marty Hurney escorted Smith off the field.

When practice ended, Fox called the team together for a long meeting, and the purpose was clear. With tempers running high, Fox told his players there would be no retribution.

"I truly, truly don't anticipate this having a lingering effect on this team," Jake Delhomme said. "We were talked to, things were squashed, that was it. It happened. There will be no retaliation by anybody on anything.

"When you look at the schedule, we don't play the Panthers this year. We've got to be smart when we're out there."

Asked what triggered the event, Delhomme replied, "I would assume it got started from a week in Spartanburg, in the heat and going against each other every day. Sometimes those emotions can make players great because they just have that fire that burns inside, but you have to be able to control it, I don't think there's any doubt."

Delhomme admitted he was disappointed that Smith would be involved in such an incident, but tried to keep the focus forward when asked about the possibility of a suspension.

"We don't know what's going to happen or anything," the quarterback said. "But this team can't stop. This team has got to keep going on.

"You know what? We are the Carolina Panthers. Does he make us better? Yes."

What happens now remains to be seen.

Team officials are still "working through," their options regarding punishment, according to Hurney, with no announcement expected until today.

"Obviously, everybody is going to be waiting to see what are the repercussions for this event," Muhammad said. "I'm just praying that we rally together as a team because, obviously, there's going to be some adversity here.

"The focus is not where it needs to be right now, which is training to play this 2008 season. I'm hoping we all come together as a team, as a family, and are able to put this behind us and come together and focus on the season, focus on winning games, and keep the big picture in mind because we're all here to try to win a Super Bowl."

This story was originally published August 1, 2008 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Smith punches Lucas in eye, melee ensues."