Steelers' Porter Is Shot - The Washington Post

Outside linebacker Joey Porter of the Pittsburgh Steelers was in serious condition in a Denver hospital yesterday after he and five other people were shot early Sunday morning outside a Denver sports bar. Steelers owner Dan Rooney said yesterday Porter's wound was not life-threatening, and that he could return to Pittsburgh for further treatment as early as today.

Rooney indicated that Porter, a five-year veteran named to his first Pro Bowl last season, had been struck in the left buttocks area and a bullet had lodged in his right thigh. Steelers Coach Bill Cowher said in a news conference in Pittsburgh that he had no plans to place Porter on the injured reserve list, which would end his 2003 season.

Police spokesman Sonny Jackson told the Associated Press that Porter was "an innocent bystander. There was no confrontation or altercation that we know of at this time." Jackson said shots were fired from outside a fenced-in downtown parking lot where victims were standing shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday. One man, Christopher Wilford, 28, was killed.

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"They're telling us he was just walking down the street near this place when someone started shooting," Rooney said. "He was an innocent bystander, there's no question about that."

Porter is the third NFL player wounded by gunfire this summer. San Diego Chargers rookie safety Terrence Kiel, a second-round draft choice, was shot three times in a Houston carjacking attempt July 4. He recovered and played in his first preseason game Friday night. Dallas safety Keith Davis was shot in the left hand and right hip outside a strip club June 29. He recovered and was cut by the team July 26.

Porter attended Colorado State as an undergraduate and was in Denver to watch his college team lose to Colorado.

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