Police Say NFL Player Head-Butted Wife

Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer head-butted his wife when she attempted to fight back against his sexual advance, according to a police report published Thursday.

The details, following Dwyer’s arrest on assault charges Wednesday, emerged in a police report published by The Arizona Republic, which said Dwyer violently confronted his wife on two separate occasions. Dwyer denied to police physically assaulting his wife.

He was charged with two counts of assault, among other charges.

The Cardinals deactivated the backup running back after his arrest, which came as the NFL is grappling with criticism over its handling of a series of domestic abuse cases, most notably that of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was suspended indefinitely by the league after video if him punching his then-fiancee unconscious emerged.

Police say Dwyer and his wife were in an argument on July 21 when he tried to kiss her and remove her clothes. She repeatedly told him to stop and, when he continued, bit his lip. Dwyer then head-butted her in the face, fracturing her nose, police said.

When police showed up, called by a witness who could hear the fighting, Dwyer appeared to have left and his wife denied the incident, saying they had been fighting over the phone. Police say she then left with the couple’s son, but returned after receiving a text from Dwyer showing a knife and saying he did not want to live.

Dwyer’s wife later said she did not initially tell police about the incident because Dwyer had threatened to kill himself. According the report, Dwyer later admitted to hiding in the bathroom when the police arrived and sending the picture with the suicide threat.

In a separate incident on July 22, the couple was again in an argument when police say Dwyer punched her in the face and then threw a shoe, which hit their 17-month son in the stomach without injuring him. After she said she would call the police, he threw her cell phone from the second floor.

See the police report below.