Warren Sapp arrested in post-Super Bowl assault, fired by NFL Network

Warren Sapp, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and network analyst, was arrested on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute and assault at a downtown Phoenix hotel just hours after Super Bowl XLIX, a law enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times.

Phoenix police officers arrested Sapp around 7 a.m. on Monday at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel-Marriott after his alleged victim placed a call to hotel security, according to the official, who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the arrest.

It was not clear if the alleged victim was a prostitute. Sapp was being held at the Maricopa County jail, according to the official.

The NFL Network decided to fire Sapp on Monday afternoon, just hours after news of his arrest surfaced.

“Warren Sapp’s contract has been terminated and he no longer works for NFL Network,” said Alex Riethmiller, vice president of communications for the network.

Calls to spokespersons for the Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately returned. A spokesman for the county prosecuting attorney’s office said information about charges against Sapp were not immediately available.

“We have been contacted by the Phoenix Police Department regarding a matter involving one of our guests,” said Jon Erickson, director of sales and marketing for the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown hotel. “We are cooperating with the police as they investigate this situation.”

Erickson said he wouldn’t comment further because it’s an active investigation. Sapp will appear in court at 4 p.m. local time on Monday, a sheriff’s office spokesman said on Twitter.

Sapp played more than 10 seasons in the NFL, including three with the Oakland Raiders, and won a Super Bowl in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He was named defensive player of the year in 1997, reached the Pro-Bowl seven times and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after his first year of eligibility in 2013.

Sapp was arrested in a battery case in Florida in 2010, but the charge was dropped.

He began serving as an analyst with the NFL Network in the years since he retired, and was in Arizona to cover Super Bowl XLIX. The network removed his profile from its website shortly after news of his arrest broke.

Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

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