LeSean McCoy

Buffalo Bills' LeSean McCoy walks onto the field before an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

The nightclub brawl that Philadelphia Police say LeSean McCoy participated in Feb. 7 left two off-duty cops hospitalized.

And it left Walter Cohen, Pennsylvania's acting attorney general in 1996, perplexed.

Incident reports suggest the altercation began with a dispute over champagne and devolved into a beat down of the off-duty officers, both 40-year-old black men. McCoy, the Eagles' all-time leading rusher, and three other suspects are awaiting decisions on whether charges will be filed, according to police.

"He has so much at stake," Cohen, a legal expert who is not affiliated with the case, said of McCoy. "Why would you get in a fight over a bottle of champagne when you have enough money to buy a vineyard?"

That question might be specific to McCoy -- who signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Bills last offseason -- but the crux of the query can be applied to several other NFL stars who have found themselves in the news recently.

Police investigated Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel earlier this month after allegations surfaced that he hit his ex-girlfriend. Manziel's dad told The Dallas Morning News that if his son doesn't get help for his alcohol and drug dependency, "he won't live to see his 24th birthday."

Manziel and McCoy are in separate situations involving different circumstances, but they spark the same debate.

Despite data suggesting NFL players are arrested at significantly lower rates than other men in their age range, some fans and pundits have suggested these athletes have a penchant for landing in sticky legal spots. Even ultra-pitchman and Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning has become a part of the discussion after reports of his 1996 sexual harassment suit garnered attention over the weekend.

The recent drama surrounding notable football players has provoked questions from many. Does the fame from NFL stardom cause shifts in behavior? Is there something about football players that trigger such decisions?

"Well, it's important to note that this doesn't happen to everybody," Temple University sports psychology professor Michael Sachs said. "It depends on the individual, and it's not necessarily more likely for NFL players to be involved in these types of situations."

Still, Sachs added the pressures or luxuries of athletic notoriety could play into the individual cases of some of these football stars.

Sachs was listening to Philadelphia radio hosts debate McCoy's situation last week, and several guests came on the show to say the star running back had seemed to change. His string of offseason controversies the past few years, which hit a climax this month, didn't seem to match up with the way he acted while growing up in Harrisburg or attending the University of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook penned a piece that illustrated a similar thought.

It makes Sachs wonder whether popularity has played a part in McCoy's off-the-field antics.

"Some individuals will allow fame and fortune and other pressures to alter their behavior," Sachs said. "If you've got a lot of 'yes men' in your inner circle of friends who don't keep you in check, it can be a recipe for some poor decisions."

You can learn about the other football players in the club with McCoy on Feb. 7 here.

Whether McCoy, Manziel or Manning are influenced by those around them or more by their own choices, Sachs expects drama away from the team isn't destined to impact their play. He said "players are good at compartmentalizing" such things.

But that doesn't mean teams won't take notice of behavioral issues before adding players or negotiating contracts. Sachs said most NFL teams consult with a sports psychologist when making draft picks, but he also wouldn't be surprised if the Bills have a doctor evaluate McCoy's mental state before the season begins.

And any team interested in acquiring Manziel should ensure his psychological well-being, Sachs said.

"It's only one element to the larger decision, but yes, it'd be helpful to have that kind of evaluation," he added.

As Bucky Gleason wrote in a column for the Buffalo News, perhaps the Bills wished they'd done a more thorough job of that last offseason.

"Maybe, just maybe, [McCoy] has too much money and too much time and not enough discipline or common sense to appreciate the fame and fortune he has been granted," Gleason wrote.

"You decide."

READ MORE ABOUT LESEAN MCCOY'S CASE HERE:

A recap of the incident, which cops say included a four-on-one beat down of an officer, and everything else we know

The full incident report provided by Philadelphia Police

Meet the other ex-football players reportedly involved

Meet the three off-duty police officers involved

NFL launches investigation

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