Hugh Douglas, ex-NFL player, pleads no contest in assault case

HARTFORD, Conn. - Former pro football player and ex-ESPN analyst Hugh Douglas pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanor breach of peace in a case that had alleged he assaulted his girlfriend at a hotel in Hartford, Conn. He received a suspended sentence of six months in prison.

 He had been charged with felony assault and strangulation.

Police say that the Bryn Mawr, Pa. resident grabbed his girlfriend by the neck and slammed her against the walls of a hallway in the Hartford Downtown Marriott last September. Douglas told authorities that the woman's neck injury was the result of rough sex.
A defense lawyer said the girlfriend changed her story. A prosecutor said it was a difficult case because it came down to Douglas's word against the girfriend's.

Douglas played in the NFL for the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars between 1995 and 2004.