A former Patriots player is making negative headlines. Willie McGinest, three-time Super Bowl winner and buddy of Tom Brady, faces up to eight years in prison after a violent incident.

Unpleasant news from Willie McGinest: The former New England Patriots pro and buddy of quarterback superstar Tom Brady is facing a lengthy prison sentence.

The 51-year-old has been charged with two felonies for an incident that allegedly took place in a restaurant in Southern California in December.

As such, the former linebacker is charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of violent assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The Los Angeles district attorney’s office told USA Today.

McGinest faces eight years in prison

Accordingly, McGinest faces up to four years in prison for each charge. Which means he faces a maximum of eight years in prison.

On 9 December, the incident had taken place at the “Delilah” restaurant in West Hollywood. According to the sheriff’s office report, several “witnesses identified him as one of the persons involved in the incident”.

There is also a video which was published by “TMZ” back in December. It not only shows the ex-athlete apparently hitting the victim several times, but also hitting him with a bottle.

Ex-Patriots star apologises

Two weeks later, McGinest had already admitted to being impaired in his judgment kit on the night in question. “First and foremost, I want to apologise for my misconduct on 9 December at a restaurant in West Hollywood,” McGinest said.

He continued, “I am disappointed in myself as I know this is an isolated incident and does not reflect my faith, my role as a father, my life’s work or the example I have worked hard to set. It’s personally devastating to me that decades of service to the community, commitment to youth, mentoring and professional development become secondary in a single moment that should never have happened.”

The ex-NFL star was working for “NFL Network” at the time of the incident, but was subsequently suspended and has not been on air since.

McGinest played 15 years in the NFL, 12 of them with the Patriots, with whom he won the Super Bowl three times. The hearing is scheduled for April.