Kyle Hadala says he was protecting friend when he sucker-punched Dallas Goedert

The man who punched Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert in the face at a bar in South Dakota last month says he was doing so to protect his friend, despite what the evidence shows.

Kyle Hadala told TMZ Sports that Goedert and his friends were the aggressors in the incident, which took place on June 19. Hadala says Goedert and his friends had been “harassing” Hadala and his friends over the music they were playing on the jukebox at a previous bar. Hadala claims Goedert and his friends were “extremely aggressive and disrespectful” and then followed Hadala’s group to the Zoo Bar.

Hadala says he decided to intervene at the zoo bar after Goedert’s crew had singled out one of his smaller friends and threatened him.

“They picked out my smaller colleague from the group, got in his face, and made very threatening remarks toward his personal well-being,” Hadala said. “Then one of his crew told my other colleague, and I quote, ‘You’re just a fat, f—ing p—y. I’ll beat the s— out of you.'”

Hadala says he was in fear for the well-being of his friends when he punched Goedert, which you can see on a surveillance video here. Goedert was shown in the footage with his hand on another person’s shirt, though it is unclear what intentions the Eagles tight end had. Hadala added that he suffered injuries in the brawl that required medical attention.

“I protected my friend and then was ambushed by five to seven individuals that punched, kicked, threw beer bottles, etc., trying to cause me bodily harm which I received medical treatment at the hospital for my injuries the next day,” the 29-year-old said.

Hadala was arrested and charged with simple assault after he was later identified by police. He is scheduled to appear in court this month, and he intends to fight the charge. Police said the charges would have been more serious but Goedert avoided “serious bodily injury.”

Goedert had 58 catches for 607 yards and five touchdowns for the Eagles in 2019. All three of those marks ranked second on the team.