Stacey Barchenger

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

A Nashville man has filed a federal civil lawsuit alleging a Tennessee Titans football player beat him up while another player served as a lookout.

Dante R. Satterfield filed the lawsuit on Wednesday against wide receiver Tajae Sharpe and offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola. Satterfield’s lawyer, Alex Little of Nashville, said Satterfield was also working with Nashville police.

"The alleged victim who is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit came to the Midtown Hills precinct (Wednesday) and met with the investigation team and we do have an open investigation taking place," Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said.

Tretola’s agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The claims are ridiculous," Sharpe's agent, Blaine Roche, told The Tennessean. "Tajae unequivocally denies any and all involvement and he looks forward to vindicating his name, clearing his name of any and all wrongdoing here."

A Titans spokesman told The Tennessean on Wednesday they were "aware of the lawsuit."

The federal lawsuit says Satterfield was at Tin Roof bar on Demonbreun Street late on April 27, the first night of the NFL draft. Sharpe and Tretola were also at the bar, according to the lawsuit.

Satterfield and the players were discussing the draft when Sharpe allegedly became upset that the Titans used a first-round pick to select wide receiver Corey Davis, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Sharpe “took exception” to Satterfield’s comments about Davis. The pick could mean Sharpe would get less playing time.

About midnight, Sharpe and Tretola asked Satterfield to leave the bar out the back door into an alley, the lawsuit says.

Satterfield, 27, described what happened next during a Wednesday interview at his lawyers’ office in downtown Nashville.

“As soon as I walked out of the back of Tin Roof, that’s when I get punched to the face,” he said.

The lawsuit says Sharpe repeatedly hit Satterfield, rendering him unconscious. The filing alleges Tretola served as a lookout during the assault.

A passerby noticed him in the alley and called 9-1-1, the lawsuit says.

Aaron confirmed police were called to the bar and a man was found unconscious there. Satterfield was taken by ambulance to a hospital, the lawsuit says.

Satterfield was unconscious for 12 hours and suffered broken bones in his face, a concussion, massive face bruising, a perforated eardrum and other injuries, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks a jury to award Satterfield at least $500,000.

“Dante can’t unbreak his nose and take away his concussion and fix his hearing,” Little said. “The only thing the courts can do in that situation is compensate for the injuries that the plaintiffs caused."

Sharpe and Tretola are entering their second season in the NFL after being selected in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, of the 2016 draft.

Sharpe, a 6-foot-2, 194-pound wide receiver from Piscataway, N.J., earned a starting job with the Titans in training camp last summer because of his precise route-running and sure-handedness catching the ball. Sharpe started 10 of 16 games last season and finished with 41 catches for 522 yards and two touchdowns.

Tretola, a 6-4, 314-pound reserve offensive lineman from San Bernardino, Calif., was inactive for 14 of 16 games with the Titans last season. He appeared in one contest, as a reserve guard, late in the fourth quarter of a victory against Jacksonville on Oct. 27 in Nashville.

The Titans drafted wide receivers with two of their first three selections in last month’s NFL draft.

The Titans selected Davis, the former Western Michigan wide receiver, with the fifth overall pick in the first round. Davis is the all-time leading receiver in Football Bowl Subdivision history with 5,285 yards, and could become the Titans' No. 1 wide receiver, starting opposite veteran Rishard Matthews.

Reporter Jason Wolf contributed to this report. Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or sbarchenger@tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger.