RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks rookie defensive lineman Malik McDowell issued an apology Monday, saying he's "embarrassed" by the actions that led to his arrest on a disorderly conduct charge.
McDowell, 22, was arrested early Sunday morning after a dispute at an Atlanta-area nightclub.
"I am embarrassed by the situation and my actions on Saturday," McDowell wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. "I would like to apologize to the Atlanta Police Department, SL Lounge, the entire Seattle Seahawks organization and my teammates. I am a young man who made a mistake and am constantly working towards getting better."
The Seahawks had no immediate comment on McDowell's arrest when news of it broke just before kickoff of their game Sunday at Jacksonville. Coach Pete Carroll said Monday that he and general manager John Schneider met separately with McDowell since the incident and that McDowell is "very remorseful."
"He got in a situation and made a mistake and hopefully this will be a learning experience for him," Carroll said. "I don't know much more than that about it. We just talked about it a bit, but I know he felt really bad representing in that manner."
The incident stemmed from McDowell contending that he paid $600 for bottles of alcohol and VIP seating at the SL Lounge, despite a friend telling him he hadn't paid, according to the incident report that was first obtained by TMZ. McDowell caused a disturbance by pouring bottles of liquor into an ice bucket inside the club. After he was removed, he got into a shouting match with police officers, according to TMZ.
"I repeatedly had to give him instructions and at one point he threw himself down on the ground in a tantrum," one of the officers wrote in a copy of the report obtained by USA Today Sports. "He immediately accused me of stealing money from him, while I began to search his person, before placing him inside my vehicle, as we are trained to do. I tried to reason with him but to no avail."
McDowell, the Seahawks' top draft pick, was not with the team in Jacksonville because he's on the non-football injury list. McDowell has been sidelined since he suffered what the team has called a severe concussion in a summer ATV accident. He's not expected to play at any point this season.
Chosen in the second round out of Michigan State, McDowell was expected to contribute right away as an interior pass-rusher in sub packages. The Seahawks said their interest in trading for Sheldon Richardson began in earnest when it became clear that McDowell was going to be unavailable for an extended period of time as a result of his accident.
Asked if the team will need to keep closer tabs on McDowell in light of his arrest, Carroll said: "I think we're definitely going to work to help him in every way that we can. We've already talked about that. Let's hope that this isn't an indicator of things to come. I hope that he has turned with this experience. He sounds very much intending to do that. We'll see what happens."