In extracts from his new autobiography The Test Brian O’Driscoll has revealed details of when he was arrested in 2008, admitting that it was a time of fear and worry.
The extract reveals that the rugby star was wrongfully arrested for assault in New York six years ago.
The talented Irish player writes that after a R.E.M. concert in popular venue, Madison Square Garden, another man attempted to hit his friend Damien O’Donoghue. However, when O’Donoghue raised his arm to protect himself, the trouble got worse. “The guy runs straight into it (the arm) and drops, like a newborn lamb.
“He’s picking himself up off the floor when his friends arrive on the scene. There’s three of them, a couple and another guy, all screaming: ‘Security! Security!’”
According to O’Driscoll, the police were then called and Brian himself was accused of attacking the other man: “They put me in a cell. Three-quarters of an hour passes. My head races, wondering how long it’s going to take.”
He also revealed in the extracts, which are being featured in the Sunday Times, that he had to sleep on the floor along with the “most wasted looking guy in the cell.”
Despite being brought to court where he pleaded not guilty, it was a full seven months before the charges were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence – just days before Ireland kicked off their Six Nations campaign.
“Even after Damo files a sworn affidavit, absolving me of any responsibility and stating that he acted in self-defence, it drags on through the summer.”
