SOUTH BEND — A former Notre Dame football player and assistant coach jailed Friday in connection with domestic violence charges made his initial court appearance today.
Michael Haywood, 46, was arraigned before St. Joseph Superior Court Magistrate Brian Steinke, who entered a preliminary "not guilty" plea on his behalf and set his next court hearing for Jan. 11 before Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller.
Haywood, who had been released Saturday on $1,000 cash bond, about 24 hours after his arrest, stood before Steinke with his attorney, Andre Gammage. He declined to talk to reporters as he walked out of the courtroom after the brief hearing.
Haywood faces felony charges of domestic violence battery in the presence of a minor. County police arrested him Friday at his Northwood Hills home, in northwestern St. Joseph County, after the mother of his 21-month-old son called 911 and told police he had put her in a chokehold and pushed her during an argument over custody of the boy.
Police said they observed red marks on the woman’s back, arms and neck.
Several hours after he posted bond Saturday, the University of Pittsburgh, which had hired him Dec. 16 to become its next head coach, announced that it had fired him because of the arrest.
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