Pinney says baseball players Lance Broadway, who is currently in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and Cameron McGuire punched him and kicked him during the fight, leaving his left eye severely damaged. He will likely never regain sight in that eye, according to his attorneys and doctors.
Pinney says the whole incident started when he noticed a man being aggressive with a female friend and asked him to backoff.
"I thought it was over. He kinda laughed at me and I was smiling the whole time," said Pinney.
But Pinney says McGuire later confronted him while Broadway blindsided him with a punch to his left eye, leaving him unconscious and in severe pain.
"Ivan was immediately dropped to the floor and rendered unconscious. Cameron McGuire, seeing this situation, took a few shots with his foot at the abdomen, midsection and face of Ivan," said Pinney's attorney Randall Sorrels.
Pinney said, "I was unconscious for a few minutes and have no recollection."
Pinney now has to undergo several surgeries to try to reconstruct his eye and his nasal passages, and he may never fully recover. Pinney cannot see from his left eye, has trouble smelling from damage to his nose, faces multiple surgeries and may lose his career as a petroleum engineer. He says the attack has certainly changed his life.
"It's absolutely turned my life upside down. I've completely lost vision and my sense of smell," Pinney told Eyewitness News. "I'm totally dependent on my parents to get me around, driving. Luckily my mother is able to take a lot of time off work and take me to my doctor's appointments."
The Dallas Police Department have opened an investigation against Broadway and McGuire. They are the suspects in what police are calling an aggravated assault. Police say they have not interviewed the baseball players yet, but they do consider this serious. No charges have been filed at this time.
The civil case is just getting underway. We don't know if Broadway and McGuire have even been served yet, or if they have attorneys.
Our Dallas affiliate went to both player's home and spoke to Broadway off camera. He says everything reported so far has been wrong.
We also left phone messages for McGuire. He did not return our calls.
Neither the Toronto Blue Jays nor the minor league Edinburg Roadrunners were aware of the suit or criminal investigation.
On Thursday afternoon, the Blue Jays released the following statement regarding Broadway to us: "We are gathering information and as is our practice, we consider this a private matter as it's been before the courts."
