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New video shows lead-up to bar fight involving Rex and Rob Ryan

Rex Ryan faces an assault complaint after the incident. 
New video shows lead-up to bar fight involving Rex and Rob Ryan
New video shows lead-up to bar fight involving Rex and Rob Ryan

A video released Friday by TMZ sheds new light on the Nashville bar fight last weekend involving Rex and Rob Ryan.

The Ryan brothers were involved in an altercation at a bar in Nashville Sunday ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. One of the other men involved, 30-year-old Colorado resident Matthew Havel, filed an assault complaint against Rex Ryan Sunday

The video released Friday by TMZ identifies the man in the blue shirt at the table with the Ryans as Havel and shows the scene inside the bar leading up to the altercation. Rob Ryan appears to say something to Havel and Rex reacts angrily to Havel’s response. Rob then shoves Havel away from the table and Rex picks up a drink. The drink splashes in Havel’s face, though it’s unclear whether Ryan threw the drink at Havel or spilled it accidentally. 

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Havel had reportedly spent the better part of an hour conversing with the Ryans before things turned violent. One video shows Rob Ryan grabbing a man who appears to be Havel by the neck. 

• Potential legal impact of the assault complaint filed against Rex and Rob Ryan

Rex was hired in April as an NFL analyst for ESPN, while Rob, a former NFL defensive coordinator, is without a job in football after being let go as part of brother’s former staff in Buffalo. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland writes Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and is the host of the “Stadium Wonders” video series. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).