Vikings cornerback Chris Cook admitted on the stand at his assault trial Tuesday that he slapped and pushed his ex-girlfriend, but he says it was self defense.
Cook said that his ex-girlfriend punched him during an argument, and that he pushed her onto a bed. He said he then turned his back and she threw a shoe at him, which “hurt bad,” and that’s when he claims he defended himself.
“I spun around and slapped her in the face,” Cook said, via the Pioneer Press.
Prosecutors say that slap ruptured the woman’s eardrum. Cook said on the stand that she also had a bloody nose.
Cook faces charges of domestic assault by strangulation and third-degree assault. The jury will begin deliberating today.