MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Randy Moss was charged with two misdemeanors and released from jail Wednesday, one day after the star receiver of the Minnesota Vikings allegedly bumped a female traffic officer with his car.
At first it was believed that Moss would face a felony count of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, but instead was charged with careless driving and failure to obey a traffic officer.
Moss addressed reporters briefly after being released from Hennepin County Jail, but refused to answer questions about the alleged incident.
"You're trying to talk about my case, but I'm not going to tell you what happened," Moss said. "It was a misunderstanding, but I'm not getting into it."
According to an arrest report from the Minneapolis Police Department, Moss allegedly tried to make a left turn from the wrong lane from Sixth Street onto Marquette Avenue. The 27-year-old traffic officer stepped in front of Moss' 2002 Lexus sedan and ordered him to stop.
The arrest report said Moss continued to drive forward, pushing the officer a half block down Marquette Avenue until she was forced down. The traffic officer called for police, who arrived on the scene and arrested Moss, also impounding his car.
Moss spent Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in jail before being released.
"Everybody treated me well. They treated me with a lot of respect," Moss said of his brief stay in jail. "It was lonely. Of course, it was nerve-wracking, but I overcame it."
Vikings coach Mike Tice did not hide his displeasure with Moss when he addressed the media on Wednesday.
"He (Moss) had been making great strides in maturity, but obviously this is a setback," Tice said. "This is a disappointment. I'm disappointed. When I sit down with Randy, his agent, and (owner) Red McCombs, I will address his situation accordingly."
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has the right to suspend and fine Moss under a "conduct detrimental to the league" clause in the collective bargaining agreement.
The Vikings visit the Seattle Seahawks Sunday night.
"Do I expect to play Sunday? Yeah, I hope so," Moss said.
This is the latest incident involving Moss, who scared off college football powers Notre Dame and Florida State with his problems with the law during high school and has been fined by the NFL for squirting water on a referee in 1999 and fined by the Vikings for verbally abusing corporate sponsors on the team bus in 2001.
Last year, the Vikings gave Moss a six-year, $75 million contract extension that included an $18 million signing bonus -- a record at the time. Late in the season, Moss raised questions about his commitment to football and rankled fans by saying, "I play when I want to play."
Moss has had several run-ins with teammates, most notably Cris Carter, who once was considered his mentor. As recently as Sunday, Moss was seen arguing on the sidelines with quarterback Daunte Culpepper during a 21-14 home loss to Carolina that dropped Minnesota to 0-3.
"It's going to be a distraction, of course, but we have to take care of business," Culpepper said of Moss' arrest. "It's part of life and we have to deal with it."
Moss set an NFL record with 5,396 receiving yards through his first four seasons. He is the only receiver in league history to amass 1,000 yards in each of his first four years.
