PITTSBURGH (AP) — One of three men acquitted last month of
    trying to carjack the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Adams sued the lineman
    Tuesday, saying Adams lied when he claimed the man had a gun and
    threatened Adams.
    Adams and Allegheny County prosecutors claimed
    Dquay Means, 26, threatened Adams with a gun when he exited a restaurant
    about 3 a.m. June 1, and attempted to steal his car. Another of the
    defendants allegedly stabbed Adams instead, and the men ran away. Adams
    was hospitalized for four days.
    The defendants argued at their
    trial last month that the encounter wasn’t a carjacking but a fight that
    began when a drunken Adams knocked food out of the hands of one the
    men. Means and Jerrell Whitlock, 27, the man who accused of stabbing
    Adams, were acquitted of attempted homicide, aggravated assault,
    conspiracy and attempted robbery. Means was convicted only of escape,
    which involved his flight from police once he knew he was wanted.
    Michael
    Paranay, 26, the man who claimed Adams knocked his food from him, was
    also acquitted of all charges against him. Paranay’s attorney argued at
    trial that Adams was the aggressor and "obliterated drunk, aggressive
    and out of control."
    The lawsuit echoes Means’ trial claims that
    Adams’ version of events changed and that he had an incentive to lie
    because he was drunk, which Adams denies. Neither Adams nor his agent
    could be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
    According to court
    papers, Adams initially told police Means pulled a gun from his
    waistband and held him at gunpoint. Adams later testified that Means
    merely took the gun from his pocket and never raised it.
    Means’
    attorneys have argued that Adams knew he would be in trouble with the
    team for starting a drunken fight and, therefore, had to come up with a
    different version of events. The Steelers drafted Adams in the second
    round in 2012 out of Ohio State after his stock dropped due to testing
    positive for marijuana at the NFL combine. The Steelers had planned to
    pass on Adams entirely, but he persuaded general manager Kevin Colbert
    that the pot test was an aberration.
    Colbert has said the Steelers drafted Adams subject to certain stipulations, which the team has never
    disclosed.
    "Michael
    Adams was fearful of losing what he had in the NFL and made it all up,
    at least as pertains to Mr. Means," Means’ attorney Monte Rabner said
    Tuesday.
    The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for false arrest
    and defamation, among other claims, and because Means spent nearly 11
    months in jail until his acquittal. He’s on house arrest awaiting
    sentencing on the escape charge.
    Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
    reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
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