Former NFL Star Accused Of Punching His Son, Choking Son’s Boyfriend: Police

A former NFL star was arrested in Indiana after he was accused of hitting his son and choking his son’s boyfriend during a domestic dispute, officials said.

Just before midnight on Feb. 20, officers responded to a report of a “delayed domestic” disturbance at the home of former Indianapolis Colts lineman Joseph “Joe” Staysniak, 56, in Brownsburg, NBC News reported.

Court documents state Staysniak’s son talked with police and said a neighbor saw him sitting in a car with his boyfriend in front of the property.

When Staysniak approached the vehicle, the documents state, he opened the rear passenger door and “grabbed [the boyfriend’s] hood and was choking him.”

Staysniak allegedly struck his son, causing his lip to bleed, and then punched the boyfriend, according to authorities. The officer who spoke to the son reported observing dried blood and cuts on his lower lip, NBC News reported.

During the altercation, the son claimed his dad allegedly displayed a gun and told him they were “lucky he saw who it was," police said.

The boyfriend told investigators that Staysniak “flashed a gun” and “had it against the side of his face at one point during the incident,” NBC News reported.

Staysniak claimed to police he received a phone call from a neighbor letting him know there was a suspicious car in their front yard, so he went to investigate. He saw who was inside and told his son's boyfriend he could never return to his property.

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He stated he never hit the boyfriend and that his son “came after him,” so he shoved him backward with an “open hand” and the son started to bleed at the mouth, court documents show.

The pair “got into it” and the son “tried to attack him” and Staysniak's wife had to separate the two, according to the documents.

Staysniak told authorities “he did have his handgun on him,” and “denied touching [the boyfriend] with it or pointing it at any person.”

Staysniak was charged with strangulation and two counts of battery resulting in bodily injury, officials said. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to have no contact with his son and the boyfriend.

The pretrial conference was scheduled for April 10 and a jury trial date was scheduled for April 25.