A lawsuit against Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey for his alleged role in a fight at a Miami nightclub in 2014 will go to trial, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced Friday.
Law enforcement officials did not file criminal charges against Pouncey for the incident at his birthday party at the Cameo Nightclub, but attorneys for Riquan James are seeking $500,000 in damages. The trial date in Miami-Dade County circuit court is set for March 6.
The lawsuit claims Pouncey verbally taunted James, a gay man also known as Ricky Vasquez, with homophobic remarks and then physically attacked him.
"Ricky was standing by the VIP section and can only be acting as described to be flamboyant calling attention to himself. This greatly upset Maurkice Pouncey who called him" homophobic slurs.
The witness added: "Maurkice left the VIP area to go over to where Ricky was and then began to punch Ricky in the face. He was very aggressive. Stating that Ricky was ruining his party by acting gay."
The attorneys also released surveillance video of the altercation.
A Steelers spokesman said the team has no comment. A message left with Pouncey's agent was not immediately returned.
