Alvin Kamara Charged With Felony Battery After Nightclub Altercation

Alvin Kamara, the New Orleans Saints’ star running back, was arrested on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas for a felony charge of battery resulting in substantial bodily harm, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He was released from the Clark County Detention Center later that day after posting a $5,000 bond, and his next court date is scheduled for March 8, according to a jail official.

On Saturday, the eve of the Pro Bowl, the N.F.L.’s annual All-Star exhibition game, the police responded to a hospital where a victim reported being battered in a nightclub, according to the statement. An investigation identified Kamara as the assailant, according to the statement, and the police arrested him “without incident” after he played in the Pro Bowl.

Representatives for Kamara and the Saints did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The arrest was the latest in a string of criminal investigations of N.F.L. players in Las Vegas. The Raiders in November released Henry Ruggs III, a first-round draft pick in 2020, after the receiver crashed his sports car into the vehicle of Tina Tintor, 23, killing her when her car burst into flames. Ruggs was charged with two felony counts of driving under the influence and two felony counts of reckless driving. Nate Hobbs, a Raiders cornerback, was charged with driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, in January after he fell asleep in his vehicle at a parking garage.

For years, pro sports leagues refused to expand into the Las Vegas market because of its association with sports gambling and its reputation as Sin City, though it remained an off-season attraction for athletes. Over time, official stances softened. U.S.A. Basketball has held its training camps there since 2006, and the N.B.A.’s summer league exhibitions have been there since 2004. The N.B.A. held its All-Star Game there in 2007.

In 2017, the N.F.L. approved the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas and the W.N.B.A. signed off on the sale of the Aces to MGM Resorts, allowing the team to move. Both came ahead of the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling that struck down a ban on commercialized sports betting. The Aces were sold to Mark Davis, the owner of the Raiders, in 2021.

The N.H.L. held its All-Star Game there on Saturday, with the N.F.L.’s Pro Bowl on Sunday. The N.F.L. will hold its draft in Las Vegas in April and awarded the city the 2024 Super Bowl.

Kamara has been named to the Pro Bowl in all five seasons of his career. In the game on Sunday, he caught four passes for 23 yards. He posted 1,337 yards from scrimmage this season and nine total touchdowns while missing four games because of a knee injury.