Paralyzed bouncer files suit

A bouncer who was paralyzed in the February shooting at the Minxx strip club filed a lawsuit Friday against the National Football League, the Tennessee Titans and player Adam "Pacman" Jones, saying they were responsible for his injuries.

Tommy Urbanski, 44, said he hopes the lawsuit will set up his wife, Kathy, financially and lead to changes in NFL player discipline policy.

"If they had three strikes and you're out, this wouldn't have happened to me. He got 10 strikes," Urbanski said, referring to Jones and his numerous run-ins with the law before the Feb. 19 shooting.

Urbanski was shot after a melee inside the club at the tail end of NBA All-Star Weekend. The lawsuit claims Jones inflamed the melee, fought with club security and threatened to kill the bouncers. It also claims Jones ordered a member of his entourage to open fire outside the club.

Urbanski had come to work 15 minutes early and was helping clear the club when a bullet ripped through his chest and lodged in his spinal cord. He hasn't walked since.

Jones and two associates have been charged in the melee, but the gunman remained free.

The NFL eventually suspended Jones for a year, but Urbanski's lawyer, Matthew Dushoff, said the league and Titans should have acted sooner.

"The NFL knew, and so did the Titans, of Adam Jones' criminal and malicious background. They chose to take no action," he said. "If Pacman Jones was disciplined earlier for his 10 prior incidents, Tommy would not be in a wheelchair today."

The league and the Titans disputed the lawsuit's claims.

"We have great sympathy for Tommy and Kathy, but we strongly disagree with any claims against the NFL and the Titans and will respond appropriately to the court," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

Jones' lawyer, Robert Langford, called the lawsuit "absurd."

"It's the same crazy allegations that are not provable in court," he said. "It's a desperate move on their part when they try to latch on to anyone who ever knew Pacman."

Another defendant in the lawsuit was Houston-based strip club Harlem Knights, which rented Minxx and supplied the strippers during NBA weekend. The lawsuit claims the company's staff and security ran when the trouble started instead of trying to help.

"When the melee started, it was like the lights turned on and the cockroaches scattered," Dushoff said.

A man who answered a call to the phone number listed on the Harlem Knights Web site said he was not affiliated with the club.

Despite his injuries and anger about the shooting, Urbanski said he has tried to move on. "I don't focus on it because it doesn't do me any good," he said.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0281.