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NFL briefs

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 29, 2000


Wife assaulted; Dillon arrested

CINCINNATI -- Bengals running back Corey Dillon missed practice following his weekend arrest in a Seattle suburb after his wife was assaulted.

Dillon, 25, did not tell the team about his arrest Saturday. Players were off Saturday and Sunday, and Dillon told the team he would be late returning Monday.

"He had called and his agent had called, but the information they relayed was not consistent with what I'm hearing," general manager Mike Brown said. "I just heard the report (about the arrest) minutes ago. I have nothing to say concerning that until I know about it."

Police said the ex-University of Washington star was arrested after officers responded to a domestic violence complaint at a Federal Way, Wash., address.

When officers arrived, they found Dillon's 23-year-old wife bleeding from the mouth in front of the house. Dillon was in the driveway, police said.

Dillon was booked into the King County jail for investigation of fourth-degree assault, but was released later Saturday. Police said the couple was in a car when Dillon struck his wife, who was driving.

Dillon repeatedly was in trouble as a juvenile, prompting him to slip to the second round in the 1997 draft. He's been arrested twice while with the Bengals.

This month, Dillon ended a holdout and agreed to a one-year contract reportedly worth $3-million.

Former lineman David Williams recovers from encephalitis, coma

GAINESVILLE -- Former NFL offensive tackle David Williams, who skipped a game to attend his son's birth in 1993, is expected to be released from the hospital today, days after he almost died from encephalitis.

Williams, 34, slipped into a two-day coma last week hours after he had been taken to a hospital complaining of severe flu-like symptoms. He had encephalitis, a brain inflammation usually transmitted by mosquito or tick bites.

"I think I probably was (dying)," Williams told the Gainesville Sun. "I don't remember any bright lights or tunnels or anything like that."

Williams, who played for the Houston Oilers and New York Jets after graduating from the University of Florida, became a national celebrity when he skipped a game to attend his son Scott's birth. The Oilers fined him one-game's pay, angering parenting associations and civil rights groups.

Williams became feverish and lethargic Tuesday, then started calling his wife, Debi, by their 5-year-old daughter's name, Kara. Debi Williams rushed her husband to a Leesburg hospital.

Wednesday, he suffered a seizure and slipped into a coma. He was transferred to Shands Hospital and was given medicine for five strains of encephalitis. He woke up Friday.

His father credits prayer for his son's recovery.

"I don't think I've seen anyone come that close to dying and not do it," Jerry Williams said.

CARRUTH WANTS SEPARATE TRIAL: Ex-Panthers receiver Rae Carruth, charged with murdering the woman carrying his baby, wants to be tried separately from two other men accused of killing Cherica Adams. Carruth's lawyer, David Rudolf, has asked a judge in Charlotte to deny a motion by prosecutors to try Carruth together with co-defendants Michael Eugene Kennedy and Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

EX-NINER ARRESTED: Keith Henderson, a running back with the 1990 Super Bowl champion 49ers, was arrested for marijuana possession in his hometown of Cartersville, Ga. Henderson, 34, tried to run away after a traffic stop Saturday night and then tried to pass a clear plastic bag to his girlfriend, police said.

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