ESPN’s Jay Mariotti Pleads ‘No Contest’ to Domestic Violence After Allegedly Hitting His Girlfriend in the Face

The details about ESPN talking head Jay Mariotti‘s violent public incident with his girlfriend have come out–and, as expected, they’re not pretty. Leonard Levine, lawyer for the victim of Mariotti’s abuse, says his client was pushed, struck in the face, pulled by the hair and grabbed so she wouldn’t escape or call the police. Mariotti claims he was upset that his girlfriend was flirting with another man.

If Mariotti did hit his girlfriend in the face, he certainly seems to have gotten off light for it. Mariotti copped a plea yesterday that allowed the more serious charges against him to be dropped in favor of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He’ll be on probation for three years and need to perform 40 hours of community service. Meanwhile, Paris Hilton got 200 hours of community service for possession of some coke. We certainly have interesting notions of grave criminal offense in this country.

“Jay is very pleased to have this matter behind him and is anxious to get back to work,” said Mariotti’s attorney Nick Hanna. “While we are confident he would have prevailed at trial, the process would have been long and expensive. Today’s resolution — a no contest plea to a low-level misdemeanor with all of the other charges dismissed — ends the matter once and for all.”

Back to work huh? It will be interesting to see if ESPN has Mariotti back on “Around the Horn,” where he’s appeared for the past several years.

Previously on FBLA: Jay Mariotti: Purse Snatcher

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