Steelers cut practice squad player after domestic violence arrest

The Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday released a player from their practice squad several hours after police charged him with assaulting his girlfriend.

Pittsburgh police said Tariq M. Carpenter, 24, threw his live-in girlfriend to the ground and held her down against her will during an argument around 8 a.m. in their apartment in the city’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood.

Carpenter is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, while his girlfriend is 5-foot-6, 115 pounds, according to a criminal complaint.

Three hours later, the Steelers announced on Twitter that the team had released the linebacker. The Steelers provided no other information.

Emily Bourne, a Pittsburgh police spokeswoman, confirmed that the man arrested was the former Steelers player.

Police said the argument stemmed from accusations that Carpenter cheated on his girlfriend. Carpenter grew angry, lifted her from bed and threw her to the floor, injuring her shoulder, according to the complaint. He then held her down and wouldn’t let her up, police said.

During their struggle, Carpenter’s girlfriend scratched his face, according to the complaint.

She called 911 from her cell phone, but Carpetner grabbed the phone and hung it up, police said.

Officers arrived and found the apartment in disarray. Carpenter told police that he was the victim but then admitted to hanging up the phone, according to the complaint. Police called Carpenter’s story “vague and non-descript.”

Carpenter was charged with simple assault and taken to jail. He was arraigned Sunday evening and faces a preliminary hearing in City Court Jan. 4.

Carpenter, a Georgia native, was drafted out of Georgia Tech last year by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round. He was signed to the Steelers practice squad before this season’s Week 1 game.