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Updates from Monday, Oct. 20

Jacques Billeaud of The Associated Press confirms bond has been lowered for Jonathan Dwyer:

A Phoenix court has lowered the bond used to release Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer from jail after he was arrested on charges that he assaulted his wife during arguments at their apartment. Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Rueter on Monday reduced Dwyer's bond from $25,000 to $10,000 and removed a requirement that the player wear an ankle monitoring bracelet. But Rueter declined a request by the player's attorney to secure his release without a bond. Dwyer has been out of jail since posting bail hours after his Sept. 17 arrest.

Updates from Monday, Oct. 6

The Associated Press confirms Jonathan Dwyer has pleaded not guilty to assaulting his wife:

Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer pleaded not guilty to charges that he assaulted his wife during two arguments in July at their Phoenix apartment. Dwyer appeared at an arraignment hearing Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court. He is charged with felony aggravated assault and eight misdemeanors, including assault.

Updates from Monday, Sept. 29

The Associated Press, via ESPN.com, shared an update on Jonathan Dwyer's situation following his arrest:

Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer has been formally charged with assaulting his wife in two arguments in July at their Phoenix apartment. An indictment publicly released late Friday charges Dwyer with felony aggravated assault and eight misdemeanors. (...) Dwyer had been booked on suspicion of assaulting his son, but the indictment doesn't charge him with crimes related to the child.

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 24

The Associated Press (via ESPN.com) provided details of the events surrounding Dwyer's arrest:

Police say Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer broke his wife's nose with a head-butt during an argument that began after she learned about his recent phone contact with another woman. Search-warrant records made public Tuesday say the July 21 argument came after Dwyer's wife came to believe her husband was cheating. Dwyer was arrested last week after his wife told police her husband assaulted her on July 21 and 22 at their Phoenix apartment. ... In the first encounter, police say Dwyer attempted to kiss and undress his wife, but she refused. Someone who heard the argument called police, who showed up at the apartment but did not make an arrest. Dwyer hid in a shower and his 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.

However, things continued the next day, per the report:

The next day, Dwyer punched his wife in the face and threw a shoe at her and instead struck their 17-month-old son, whom she was holding, police said. The child wasn't injured. As his wife tried to call police, Dwyer grabbed her cellphone and threw it down from the apartment's second story, police said.

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 18

Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reported the Cardinals placed Jonathan Dwyer on the reserve, non-illness list Thursday:

The Cardinals have moved running back Jonathan Dwyer, arrested Wednesday in a domestic violence case, to the reserve/non-football illness list, and brought back running back Jalen Parmele to the active roster to get the team back to four backs going into the San Francisco game. The reserve list Dwyer is on means the Cardinals have the option not to pay him. In addition, the Cardinals have cut running back Chris Rainey from the practice squad and signed former Colts running back Kerwynn Williams to fill that spot.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported more about Dwyer following the move by the Cardinals:

Kent Somers of AZCentral.com reported on why the Cardinals placed him on the non-football illness list:

SportsCenter provides the latest on Dwyer after the Cardinals running back was arrested on a domestic violence charge Wednesday:

Jacques Billeaud of the The Associated Press reported the details behind Dwyer's arrest:

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 Thursday. ... 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 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. 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. During his police interview, 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. As he was released from jail Thursday, he said he never hurt his son.

Original Text

Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of domestic violence.

Tyler Baldwin of 3TV News in Arizona first reported the news:

CBS Evening News confirmed the report:

Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports added more details of the allegations:

David Kadlubowski of The Arizona Republic snapped a picture of Dwyer with the police:

Jane McManus of ESPN reported that the Cardinals have since deactivated Dwyer:

The Cardinals released a statement explaining their actions, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com:

Urban outlines more information:

Given the climate in the NFL right now, the arrest—stemming from an incident with Dwyer, a woman and an 18-month child—didn't take long to make national news. Dwyer was in the locker room prior to practice, so the arrest happened after that. According to azcentral.com, police took an incident report last week and have been gathering information. Police said Dwyer was accused of aggravated assault "over a fracture" as well as an allegation of assault involving a minor and preventing the use of a phone during an emergency. While further details are unclear at this point, this serves as the newest development in what has been a week chock-full of awful news in the NFL.

This comes just days after video surfaced of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee—along with allegations that the NFL covered up the video—as well as news that Adrian Peterson faces a child abuse charge after he spanked his four-year-old son with a switch.

Earlier Wednesday, the Carolina Panthers placed defensive end Greg Hardy on the NFL's exempt list (as the Minnesota Vikings did with Peterson) while his domestic violence case is resolved, per ESPN.com's David Newton.



It's a dark time in the NFL, and with each new terrible domestic violence story, the pressure will continue to mount on Commissioner Roger Goodell. As Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann argues, though, the blame can be spread out:

As for Dwyer, 25, a first offense of domestic abuse results in a six-game suspension under the new personal conduct policy, which was amended in the wake of the controversy surrounding Rice. However, San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald was arrested on charges of domestic abuse just days after the NFL put the new policy in place, but he continues to play as the team and league wait for his case to go through the court system.

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With details of Dwyer's situation not yet known, his future with the Cardinals is up in the air. Once more information is available, one can only hope that the NFL has learned from its past mistakes and acts swiftly.