National Football League

Wife: 'I did not want them to arrest him'

Published Jul. 6, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The wife of Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood said Wednesday the charge of disorderly conduct against her husband has been blown out of proportion, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

Underwood, who was arrested in June following an altercation with his wife in which he allegedly ripped a Super Bowl necklace from her neck and dragged her out of his car, appeared in a Wisconsin courthouse Wednesday with his estranged wife by his side.

"I told police I did not want them to arrest him," Brandie Underwood, 25, said upon leaving the courthouse. "He's never harmed me in any way, shape or form."

"The last thing I wanted was for him to get in trouble," she said while fighting back tears, according to the Press-Gazette.

According to court documents, Underwood was arrested June 16 following a team ceremony at Lambeau Field in which the Packers players were awarded their Super Bowl rings.

Underwood's wife, who filed for divorce in May but continues to live with her husband, told police the couple began arguing in the car on the way home from the event. She claimed Underwood became agitated over the necklace she was wearing that had been awarded to the players' wives.

The 25-year-old defensive back allegedly ripped the necklace from his wife's neck while the two were still sitting inside the car in the driveway of their home. He then allegedly got out of the car, walked over to the passenger side and dragged the mother of his three children from the vehicle before driving off.

Brandie Underwood then called police and her husband was arrested upon his return. Wisconsin state law requires officers to make an arrest in a domestic abuse report if reasonable grounds exist that the abuse occurred and if continued abuse is likely, according to the Press-Gazette.

Brandon Underwood, who was fined $379 earlier this year after pleading no contest to one count of prostitution-nonmarital sexual intercourse in connection with an incident last summer, refused to comment Wednesday after he signed a $1,000 bond.

His next court date has been set for July 15.

Underwood was drafted by the Packers out of the University of Cincinnati in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.