A lawsuit accusing Hugh Douglas, a former NFL defensive end and fired ESPN analyst, of assaulting his ex-girlfriend at a Hartford hotel in 2013 is headed toward trial.
Hugh Douglas, 42, of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, who also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets, was arrested in downtown Hartford about two years ago after police said he aggressively attacked a woman at the Marriot Hotel at Adriaen’s Landing.
Jury selection is scheduled for Thursday in federal court in New Haven. The trial is to begin Dec. 7.
Court documents say Douglas “grabbed her by the neck,” picked her up, carried her down the hall toward the room and “slammed her into the walls several times.” The victim told police she blacked out because she could not breathe.
The victim is upset with a plea bargain Douglas took and is suing for damages for alleged physical and emotional harm.
Douglas claims the victim’s injuries happened during rough sex.
The victim had red marks on both sides of her neck and a bump on the back of her head, according to police.
He was arrested on felony assault and strangulation charges, but pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a probation program.
Douglas was a host of the television show Numbers Never Lie and hired by ESPN in 2011 to work as a football analyst. He also played for the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995 to 2004.
