Johnathan Dwyer Arrest: Cardinals Running Back Accused Of Head-Butting Wife For Refusing Sex

Johnathan Dwyer allegedly grew enraged when his wife refused his sexual advances, head-butting her so hard that her nose was broke.

On Thursday, police released details about the arrest of the Arizona Cardinals running back, the latest in a string of bad news for the NFL. On Wednesday, he had been arrested on aggravated assault charges and was immediately de-activated from the team.

“We became aware of these allegations this afternoon when notified by Phoenix police and are cooperating fully,” the team said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Given the serious nature of the allegations, we have taken the immediate step to deactivate Jonathan from all team activities. We will continue to closely monitor this as it develops and evaluate additional information as it becomes available.”

Dwywer spent the night in jail and was released early Thursday after making a brief court appearance. The NFL said it is reviewing Johnathan Dwyer’s case, though no announcement on his discipline has come.

The arrest was part of a string of difficult incidents for the league, starting with the domestic violence arrest of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. After the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell took criticism for what many believed was a lenient two game suspension, new video emerged of the incident itself, showing Rice knocking then-fiancee Janay Palmer unconscious.

The video brought new criticism on the Ravens and NFL, which grew even louder after Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson’s arrest for suspicion of child abuse.

The events involving Johnathan Dwyer reportedly took place on July 21 and 22 and his home in Phoenix. Police said Dwyer tried to kiss and undress his wife, and when she refused the two began to argue.

Police said the following day Dwyer punched his wife on the left side of her face and also punched walls and threw a shoe at his 18-month-old son. When his wife tried to call police, Dwyer stepped in a grabbed her cell phone, throwing it from the home’s second story, police said.

There is not yet word on what kind of discipline Johnathan Dwyer could face from the NFL after his domestic violence arrest.