Former Huskers coach Mickey Joseph appears in court

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Former Nebraska Interim Head Football Coach Mickey Joseph remains in jail and is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon following his arrest Wednesday.

He appeared in court Thursday afternoon. Bond was set at 10% of $20,000 and he was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. His next court appearance will be Jan. 30.

Lincoln Police said officers were called at 1:54 p.m. Wednesday to the area of 34th and Tree Line Drive in south Lincoln on a report of someone being “pushed, choked, and punched” by another person.

According to the police report, Joseph’s wife said they were having an argument inside their home about infidelity in the marriage. She said he got on top of her on the couch and put his hands around her throat. She specifically told police: “He pushed me on the couch and strangled me.”

When police asked if she could breathe, she said: “No, not until I pushed him off.” She also told police that “he grabbed me by the hair and punched me in the eye.”

Police said her eye was red and swollen. The police report states that she said Joseph had struck her in the temple with a closed fist.

Her brother was at the home when the alleged attack occurred and confirmed his sister’s account of the incident to police. He also said that Joseph had grabbed his wife’s cell phone and tried to flush it down the toilet before he left the residence.

LPD said Joseph, 54, was arrested at a separate location at about 3:10 p.m. Wednesday. Joseph was contacted by police along the 7500 block of San Mateo Lane in Lincoln and was taken into custody. In the police report, Joseph denied hitting his wife in the face or pulling her hair.

He was booked into the Lancaster County Jail and is facing charges of strangulation and third-degree domestic assault. Joseph posted bond on Thursday afternoon, shortly after his court appearance, and was released.

Lincoln Police said they don’t typically inform media for domestic-related arrests, but did so in this case because of the high-profile nature of the suspect and to “provide transparency on an arrest involving a public figure.”

ESPN on Wednesday reported that Joseph had been arrested in a similar incident in 1990, while he was a quarterback for the Huskers. In that case, the police reports said an ongoing domestic dispute had escalated when he broke the window to his girlfriend’s apartment while trying to gain entry, but “no charges were filed in that case because of uncooperative witnesses.”

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10/11 News contributed to this report.

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