MLS probing report of Pappa stabbing
Major League Soccer is investigating a report that Marco Pappa, the Rapids’ recently acquired midfielder, was allegedly stabbed in the abdomen and found in an apartment with a beauty pageant queen.
“The Rapids have notified Major League Soccer and we are looking into the matter,” Dan Courtemanche, MLS executive VP of communications, told The Denver Post in an e- mail.
When asked about the report, the Rapids issued this statement:
“We are aware of the situation and have notified Major League Soccer. We have spoken with the player and will cooperate with the league on their evaluation of this matter. At this timewe will have no further comment.”
King 5, a Seattle TV station, reported that Miss Washington USA Stormy Keffeler and a blood- covered Pappa were found last month in an apartment in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Pappa was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.
According to the report, Keffeler and Pappa changed their accounts of what happened. No arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation.
The Denver Post was unable to independently confirm the King 5 report.
When asked if Pappa’s injuries would prevent him from joining their team at the beginning of the preseason, the Rapids declined to give out further details.
Pappa, 28, was acquired last month by the Rapids in a deal that sent allocation money to Seattle.
The former Sounders midfielderwas arrested last July for DUI and speeding, and missed a month of action while undergoing an assessment by the MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.