The assault trial of Vikings cornerback Chris Cook has begun, and Cook is claiming that he was defending himself in a confrontation with his then-girlfriend in October.
Cook’s lawyer, David Valentini, described Cook’s actions as reasonable acts of self defense, and says that the injuries his accuser suffered are the result of her attacking a professional football player.
“He gets to defend himself,” Valentini told the jury, according to the Pioneer Press. “Mr. Cook is blessed with fast reflexes and strength. It’s his job. There are no weaklings in the NFL, ladies and gentlemen. He reacts - defensively, instinctively -- after he gets assaulted from behind.”
But prosecutors say Cook attacked his girlfriend when he discovered she had been talking to an ex-boyfriend. According to her medical records she suffered a perforated eardrum and lost part of her hearing.
Cook is accused of felony counts of domestic assault by strangulation and third-degree assault.