PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona Cardinals running back
Jonathan Dwyer head-butted his wife and broke her nose after she refused his
sexual advances, and punched her in the face the next day, police said.
The details surfaced in a law enforcement report a
day after Dwyer was arrested on aggravated assault charges and deactivated from
all team activities after he was taken into custody at the Cardinals' practice
facility and headquarters in Tempe.
He spent a night in jail and made a brief
court appearance before being released on bail early Thursday.
The arrest came at a time when the NFL and its
commissioner are under fire over a series of violent off-the-field encounters
involving some of the league's marquee players, including Ray Rice, Adrian
Peterson and Greg Hardy.
The NFL has said the Dwyer case will be reviewed
under the league's personal-conduct policy.
Dwyer was arrested recently for investigation in two
altercations that occurred at his Phoenix residence, just days before the
Cardinals reported to training camp.
His wife left the state after the
incidents, but came forward a week ago after Dwyer apparently sent suicidal
text messages including a photo of a knife.
In the first encounter, police say Dwyer attempted
to kiss and undress his wife, but she refused. Someone who heard the argument
reported the assault to police, who showed up at the apartment but did not make
an arrest.
Dwyer hid in a bathroom and the wife said she hadn't been assaulted
and denied he was in the home because the running back threatened to kill
himself in front of her and their child if she told police about the assault,
police said.
The next day, Dwyer punched his wife with a closed
fist on the left side of her face, according to police. He also punched walls
and threw a shoe at his 17-month-old son, who was not injured, police said.
As his wife tried to call police, Dwyer grabbed her
cellphone and threw it down from the home's second story. Witnesses told police
that Dwyer's wife said, "I'm calling the police" as she held her
swollen face and clutched her son.
Dwyer acknowledged hiding in the bathroom when
police responded to the first argument and sending a photo of a knife with
suicidal threats.
Dwyer denied committing an assault, though he acknowledged
that he punched walls in his home, threw a phone and that his wife bit his lip
during the disputes, according to the police report.
Note: It is
this type of aggressive bullying that wins football games and why fans buy
tickets and why sponsors advertise and why the media broadcasts these gladiator
type games in the first place.
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