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Agent: Mike Evans was not arrested

NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie receiver Mike Evans said Friday that a fight he was involved in outside of a nightclub in Miami occurred months ago, and his agent said the player was not arrested.

A video posted by TMZ Sports shows Evans fighting with bouncers outside of Dream Nightclub in South Beach. TMZ said the fight took place Saturday night, but Evans' agent, Deryk Gilmore, told the Tampa Tribune that the incident happened in March -- two months before Evans was selected by the Buccaneers as the No. 7 overall pick in the NFL draft.

In a statement released Friday, Evans also said the incident took place in March.

"The incident in question happened during spring break in March while I was vacationing with friends in Miami," he said. "The issue occurred at the end of the night when someone in my party was approached by a member of the security staff. The situation escalated very quickly from there, but fortunately no one was injured. I regret that this incident that happened nearly six months ago has become a distraction to my team and I look forward to continuing to prepare for the start of my rookie season with the Buccaneers."

James Andrews, the nightclub's general manager, told the Tribune on Friday he believed no such incident occurred outside his club last weekend.

Gilmore told the Tribune that Evans was allowed in as a guest of the club because he was underage at the time, that his client wasn't drinking and did not have the necessary wristband needed to have access to areas of the club where drinking was allowed. Evans was trying to regain access to the VIP area after using a bathroom -- he wanted to get his girlfriend to leave with him -- but didn't have his wristband and was asked to leave, Gilmore said.

The video showed that the fight occurred outside the club.

The Buccaneers put out a new depth chart on Monday and Evans was listed as a starter at receiver. Evans, who caught Johnny Manziel's passes at Texas A&M, has been getting much of the first-team work in training camp. The Bucs traveled to Buffalo on Friday for Saturday's preseason game against the Bills.

Coach Lovie Smith stood by the rookie Friday.

"During his time here since we drafted him in May, Mike has met all of our expectations both on and off the football field," Smith said in a statement. "After speaking with Mike, our feelings about him remain unchanged. We expect him to be an important member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for many years to come and we consider this matter closed."

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