GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood was released Wednesday on a $1,000 signature bond after being accused of disorderly conduct against his wife.
WLUK-TV reported that Underwood appeared for an initial hearing to face the misdemeanor charge after police were called to his Green Bay house, just hours after the team received its Super Bowl rings June 16. He allegedly pushed his wife to the ground and ripped a necklace from her neck, according to the complaint.
Underwood, 25, and his wife, Brandie Underwood, also 25, showed up for Wednesday's hearing together. Brandon Underwood declined comment afterward, but Brandie Underwood said she didn't want him to get in trouble.
"I've never been afraid of him," she said. "This has just been blown so out of proportion, it's unbelievable."
Brandie Underwood filed for divorce in May, according to online court records. She said Wednesday they are receiving counseling and still living together.
Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey said Wednesday the organization is aware of the charge, but he declined further comment.
Earlier this year, Brandon Underwood pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of soliciting a prostitute in a June 2010 incident at a resort cabin in Lake Delton, Wis., after two women alleged he sexually assaulted them.
Underwood paid a $379 fine. A call placed Wednesday to his lawyer in that case wasn't immediately returned. No attorney was listed in online records for the current case.
According to the Brown County complaint filed Tuesday, the Underwoods went to dinner after the ring ceremony, and as they returned home, they argued in the car while they pulled into their driveway.
Underwood allegedly grabbed a necklace off his wife's neck and broke the chain. She received the necklace at the ring ceremony, where the players' wives were given them.
She told police that Underwood then got out, pulled her out of the car and threw her to the ground, according to the complaint.
Brandon Underwood told police he was upset his wife was wearing the necklace and wanted to make the decision whether or not his wife got the necklace.
The couple has been married for five years and has three children, according to the complaint.
Brandie Underwood told officers she didn't want him to go to jail, "saying that she was worried that her children would not have food to eat or have clothes if Brandon lost his job." She told officers she has been struggling to get him to pay for support of their children since the divorce filing, the complaint said.
Brandon Underwood is due back in court July 15.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
