Arizona Cardinals draftee Christian Kirk arrested at Phoenix Open
May 15, 2018, 9:31 AM | Updated: 2:32 pm
Arizona Cardinals' second-round draft pick Christian Kirk (13) runs drills during NFL football rookie camp Friday, May 11, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — Christian Kirk, an Arizona Cardinals draft pick who played high school football in Scottsdale, was arrested and charged with criminal damage near this year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said the team was aware of the incident before making Kirk the 47th overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft.
“We knew about it,” Wilks said Tuesday. “We did our own independent research on it and we felt very good about the information that we received and that’s why we moved forward in really drafting him.”
According to the report from the Scottsdale Police Department, Kirk and Carter McCarthy, both 21, were booked and released on the night of Feb. 3 for throwing rocks at car windows.
Witnesses reported seeing the men throwing rocks in the parking lot for the golf tournament held at TPC Scottsdale.
The police report said an officer could smell alcohol on Kirk, whose eyes were bloodshot and watery.
According to ABC 15, police said a prosecutor later added a charge of disorderly conduct.
The men told police they were walking from the Bird’s Nest, a popular party spot that is open in conjunction with the tournament every year, to Kirk’s apartment and denied throwing rocks.
“I think the situation is going to resolve itself here in a couple of months, and with it still being an ongoing legal issue, I’m not going to go into it any further than that,” Wilks said.
Kirk, a wide receiver who starred at Saguaro High School before playing for Texas A&M, was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of last month’s draft.
