JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Walker missed practice Friday, hours after a friend was fatally stabbed inside an Orlando nightclub.
Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio said in a statement that "Mike came to me this morning prior to meetings to tell me that he was visiting friends in Orlando. He explained that a friend was stabbed and died. I excused him from practice today to deal with this situation."
Orlando police say 23-year-old Winfred L. Ezell was fatally stabbed inside Club Whispers during an argument Friday around 2:26 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The team said Walker was home when the incident occurred.
The incident comes after Jaguars left tackle Richard Collier was shot 14 times on Sept. 2 outside an apartment complex and left paralyzed from the waist down. He had his left leg amputated below the knee.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
