IK Enemkpali Allegedly Punched Man in 2011 Dispute: Latest Details and Reaction

Buffalo Bills linebacker IK Enemkpali—best known for punching then-teammate Geno Smith in the face this offseason—was reportedly involved in a catfishing-type incident when he was still in college in 2011.

Paula Lavigne of ESPN.com reported that Enemkpali “missed his college team’s 2011 season opener because he injured his hand when punching a man he thought was a woman with whom he had arranged to have sex, Outside the Lines has learned.”

Lavigne also noted “The details of Enemkpali punching the man he thought was a woman are outlined in a police report obtained by Outside the Lines. Enemkpali was not charged in the incident and actually made the complaint to police after the man demanded money from him.”

According to that police report, Enemkpali exchanged messages with a Facebook friend named “Missy Lee.” When he eventually went to “Missy Lee’s” house, there was a figure covered in a blanket. He left the first time when the figure would not remove the blanket, but he discovered that figure was a man the second time he went to the house.

Lavigne provided more details:

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“Enemkpali stated that he felt that he was being ‘set up’ for a robbery of some type,” the police report states. “Enemkpali stated that fearing for his safety, he then struck the subject in the blanket. Enemkpali stated that after he struck this person, their voice changed to that of a male. Enemkpali stated that he then left the residence through the window.”

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Police ultimately traced the identity of the person to a man named Ketryn Anderson, who demanded Enemkpali pay him $1,000 if he wanted the interaction to remain a secret. Per Lavigne, “Anderson ‘stated that he was no attempting to extort money from Enemkpali, only to get him to pay for the damage he had done to his face.’ The officer noted Anderson was missing two front teeth.”

Enemkpali needed surgery after the incident and missed Louisiana Tech’s opening game in the 2011 campaign. Lavigne pointed out NFL sources said the incident actually led to one AFC taking the linebacker off its draft board because it did not reflect well on his decision-making.

This is not the first time Enemkpali’s name has been in the news this offseason. He broke Smith’s jaw with the punch he threw and was immediately released by the New York Jets following the incident. The Buffalo Bills claimed him in the aftermath.

Buffalo coach Rex Ryan was the coach of the Jets when New York drafted Enemkpali in 2014.