Yesterday JAMTV reported that members of the New England Patriots football team injured a woman after stage-diving into the audience at an Everclear show in Boston. Everclear frontman Art Alexakis issued a statement saying that, contrary to some reports, the band did not invite quarterback Drew Bledsoe and his teammates to climb on stage.|

"We had no idea that Drew and all the other Patriots were going to come on stage and not in our wildest dreams did we ever think they were going to stage dive," Alexakis said. "Once they did, we immediately ended the show and went back into our dressing room. We were told by our crew that the Patriot players continued to stage dive after the show had ended."

Despite the athletes' shocking behavior, Alexakis stated that he has "the utmost respect for Drew [and] the New England Patriots" though he "cannot condone any actions which put the safety of ... fans in jeopardy." The players' actions sent one fan, Tameeka Messier, to St. Elizabeth's hospital in Boston where she reportedly underwent extensive surgery to replace two discs that were pressing on her spinal cord.

"We have been trying to contact the injured woman and her family to express our concern," Alexakis concluded. "However, we have been unable to reach them." (Seth Hindin)