Dumped by Raiders, Damon Arnette Countersues Aria Valet Over Spitting Claim

Posted on: November 9, 2021, 10:12h. 

Last updated on: November 9, 2021, 02:29h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Troubled NFL cornerback Damon Arnette is countersuing a valet at the Aria Resort & Casino. The valet accused him of inflicting mental stress, anguish, pain and suffering last May through alleged aggressive behavior at the casino.

Damon Arnette
Damon Arnette parted ways with the Las Vegas Raiders Monday after a TikTok video emerged allegedly showing him threatening to kill someone while brandishing weapons. (Image: Getty)

News of Arnette’s defensive legal maneuver came less than 24 hours after he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The team announced Monday it would part ways with the 2020 first-round draft pick. The move came in response to a viral video that appears to show Arnette making threats to kill an unseen person while wielding three firearms.

The player was sued by Aria valet Sonny Flores in June. Flores claims an intoxicated Arnette spit at him, repeatedly poked him in the chest, and verbally abused him when he refused to retrieve Arnette’s car without a valet ticket, per company policy.

The suit also includes ten unnamed people in Arnette’s entourage who allegedly joined in the abuse.

The lawsuit seeks general damages and special damages in excess of $15,000, including attorney’s fees and court costs.

‘Designed to Extract Money’

In the counterclaim filed in Clark County District Court, Arnette’s lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, describes the lawsuit as “frivolous” and designed purely to extract money from his client.

Schonfeld says that three weeks before Flores sued, Arnette received a letter from the valet’s lawyers demanding $500,000 not to go public about the incident.

The lawsuit lacks merit and is frivolous, and the demand and the lawsuit were made to extract payment from Mr. Arnette as a result of the improper threat to go to law enforcement, Mr. Arnette’s employer [the Raiders and the NFL], and the media,” the counterclaim states.

Arnette is also being sued for his alleged involvement in an October 2020 hit-and-run crash in Henderson, Nev., close to the Raiders’ training ground. The plaintiff claims she was injured in the crash.

Arnette has denied the lawsuit’s allegations.

Rugs III Crash

Schonfeld’s firm, Chesnoff & Schonfeld, is also representing another disgraced former Raiders player.

Henry Ruggs III allegedly crashed his Corvette into another vehicle in the early hours of November 3, killing a 23-year-old woman, Tina Tintor, and her dog. His blood-alcohol content was twice the legal limit at the time, and he was driving at 156 miles per hour, according to law enforcement officers.

Ruggs III has been charged with multiple felonies and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

During a press conference Monday, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock was asked whether there were concerns about young athletes, like Ruggs III and Arnette, coming straight from college to live and work in a party town like Las Vegas.

“Can a country kid live in a big city or vice versa? … We do have to be aware of Vegas,” he said. “But my thing is this – in just about any mid- to big-sized city in the country, if you want to find trouble, you can find it. And our job is to find the kids that will get past that.”