Ex-Ohio State and NFL linebacker Darron Lee arrested for domestic violence

COLUMBUS — Former Ohio State and NFL linebacker Darron Lee is facing charges of domestic violence concerning two separate incidents. The first from this earlier week and the second from October 2022.

Franklin County Municipal Court records say Lee has been charged with two accounts of domestic violence and two counts of assault, according to our news partners at WBNS.

Monday, Dublin Police responded to a domestic violence call at a house on Kendall Ridge Loop after reports of Lee punching a female victim in the head multiple time during an argument.

The 28-year-old first told police the victim came to the house uninvited and punched him in the face first. Court records later say Lee recanted that statement.

>>Dayton Flyer football announces 2023 schedule and team captains for upcoming season

An additional woman in the residence, who called the police, reported that she was downstairs when she heard the victim yelling from upstairs. When the caller went up the stairs, she saw the victim lying on her back with Lee over her with his fist raised.

The victim went to the hospital, where she spoke with the police about what happened. She says that she went to the home after the other woman called her and said she didn’t feel safe with Lee at the house.

The victim told Lee to leave the house, and she says that’s when he grabbed her shirt and pushed her into a wall two times before being thrown to the ground. She says she was hit eight to nine times in the head with a closed fist.

As the investigation progressed, authorities uncovered another occurrence from October 17, 2022, which concerned the caller.

According to court records, the woman informed the authorities that she had engaged in an argument with Lee during which he accused her of cheating on him.

>>Kentucky high school football player dies after head injury

Lee placed his hand on the woman’s neck while she was lying on a bed, according to the woman.

She said he threatened to kill her and proceeded to squeeze her throat. For about three seconds she says she couldn’t breathe.

He then is said to have thrown the woman’s phone toward her and hit her in the head after bouncing off the wall, followed by a remote control.

A court record shows that the woman went downstairs, and Lee followed her. Then he allegedly picked her up, swung her around, and then dropped her to the floor.

According to Lee, there was an altercation but he says the woman hit him in the face multiple times. He denies that he threw anything at her or put his hand on her neck.

Police reportedly saw photos of the woman’s injuries taken that night as well as pictures of a hole in the wall and a broken phone.

Lee played as a starter for two years at Ohio State and was part of their championship-winning team in 2014.

He was later drafted in the first round by the New York Jets in the 2016 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 and the Buffalo Bills in 2020.

Lee signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in June 2021 but was released by the team after two months.

©2023 Cox Media Group