Former Cardinals Player Curt Ford Assaulted at St. Louis Gas Station, Told to "Go Back to Ferguson"

Former St. Louis Cardinals player Curt Ford was involved in a racially-motivated attack earlier this week.

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Former Cardinals outfielder Curt Ford is currently recovering at his home in St. Louis after being attacked by a man outside of a gas station on Wednesday afternoon. Police are still looking into exactly what took place, but during an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier today, Ford revealed that he was assaulted by a white male who yelled racial slurs before sucker-punching him.

According to police, Ford and a 37-year-old man named James Street (click on the thumbnail above to see his mugshot) pulled into a Petro Mart located in Fenton, Mo. at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday and attempted to drive up to the same pump. Ford then backed up and pulled up next to a different pump, allowing the car driven by Street to pass him and pull into a parking spot in front of the gas station's convenience store. Ford then got out of his car and walked into the store, at which time Street reportedly started yelling racial slurs at him. A police source told the Post-Dispatch that he yelled, "Go back to Ferguson, you [racial slur]." And a short time later, Street allegedly approached him and punched him in the head.

"I was sucker-punched, blindsided," Ford told the Post-Dispatch. "I was walking into the store and hit from my blind side."

Street was arrested, and police have obtained a surveillance video from the gas station that shows what happened. Ford told the Post-Dispatch that the incident may force him to move out of St. Louis.

"I'm going to let the authorities handle this situation, but I've had enough of St. Louis," he said. "You hear about this kind of stuff happening, and I always knew it existed because of my previous experience working here in St. Louis, but you try to keep away from it and there is just no way you can do that unless you stay inside like a hermit. I just want justice. It's all I want."

Ford spent six seasons in MLB playing for the Cardinals and Phillies before retiring in 1990.

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[via St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

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