A Central State University graduate who made a name for himself in the NFL and on ESPN told police rough sex and not assault led to his girlfriend being injured in a Marriott hotel room, according to The Courant in Hartford, Conn.

Hugh Douglas, a two-time NAIA All American at Central State in the early 1990s and a 10-year NFL veteran, was arrested Sunday in Hartford after his girlfriend told a hotel clerk she had been assaulted.

The clerk called police after seeing bruises on the distraught woman’s neck, according to reports.

The woman, Douglas’ girlfriend for about eight months, at first made light of the situation, telling police she and Douglas had a “little fight,” the newspaper reports.

At a hospital she told police she and Douglas got into an argument after returning to the hotel after drinking.

The woman said Douglas grabbed her by the neck, picked her up and carried her down a hallway towards their room, slamming her against walls on the way, the Courant reports.

The woman told police she couldn’t breathe and blacked out. She woke up fully-clothed with a headache and left the room.

Douglas reportedly told police the injuries to the woman’s neck were due to so-called rough sex. He could not explain a bump on her head.

The former member of the New York Jets, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars was arrested and charged with second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault. He has been released on bail.

In August, Douglas was fired from ESPN’s “Numbers Never Lie” after allegedly threatening to beat up his co-host Michael Smith at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Orlando.

Intoxicated, Douglas allegedly called Smith an “Uncle Tom” and a “House n—-.”

Read: ESPN Fires CSU’s Hugh Douglas for alleged “Uncle Tom” comments

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