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Steeler testifies he didn't know he was stabbed at first

PITTSBURGH — The trial is underway for three men charged in the stabbing and attempted carjacking of Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Mike Adams.

The trial began Tuesday in Pittsburgh for 26-year-old Michael Paranay, 26-year-old Dquay Means and 27-year-old Jerrell Whitlock who are accused of stabbing the former Ohio State University star about 2:30 a.m. on June 1 near the intersection of 17th and East Carson Streets in the South Side.

All three men are charged with counts ranging from conspiracy to attempted homicide.

Prosecutor Christopher Stone said in his opening statements Tuesday that the defendants "saw an opportunity to steal a nice truck" and they took it.

Adams testified Tuesday that he didn't realize he had been stabbed until he saw the knife being pulled out of his abdomen.

“It all happened so fast. I didn't understand what was happening,” Adams told an Allegheny County jury. “I was in shock.”

Adams' testimony ranged from how much he had to drink that night to how the altercation between him and the men began.

His cross-examination by attorneys Fred Rabner, William Difenderfer and Randall McKinney spanned more than two hours and led to heated objections by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Stone and admonishments from Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani.

Adams claimed Means and Whitlock approached him as he was getting out of his truck after the bars closed, asked him if the truck belonged to him and told Adams to “give it up.”

“I said, ‘What do you mean give it up?' and I told him to back up,” Adams said.

Adams said Means showed him a gun he had tucked into his waistband and threatened to shoot him in the face when Paranay came up from behind and punched him in the head. That's when Whitlock pulled out a knife and stabbed him, he said. Adams ran to the nearby Cambod-Ican Kitchen, where the owner tried to help.

“She said Big Mike, you got stabbed,” Adams said. “At that point, I was bleeding everywhere.”

Lawyers for the three men believe Adams, whose blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit to drive, started a fight with Paranay outside the Cambodian restaurant and was stabbed as the crowd dispersed. They don't know who stabbed Adams.

Adams said he was intoxicated, but not belligerent and fully knew what was going on.” He couldn't recall how many drinks he had that night.

The lawyers for the three men claim Adams has lied about the incident because he was already on thin ice with the team after testing positive for marijuana at the scouting combine before the 2012 draft.

Adams said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert told him to see a doctor for substance abuse for marijuana, and the doctor said he didn't have a problem. The Steelers ended up drafting him in the second round.

The Steelers drafted the 6-foot-7, 325-pound Adams in the second round in 2012 out of Ohio State.

Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE and The Associated Press contributed to this report.