Probation for ESPN writer after Mass. wife attack

GREENFIELD, Mass. – A senior writer for Bristol, Conn.-based ESPN has agreed to serve six months of probation on charges he assaulted his wife outside a pizza parlor in western Massachusetts.

Howard Bryant was arrested after witnesses told authorities they saw a man choking a woman and pinning her against a parked car in front of a pizza parlor in Buckland, Mass., in January.

Bryant lives in nearby Ashfield. Police say he resisted arrest and struck a state trooper in the chest with his elbow.

A Greenfield District Court judge warned Bryant on Friday violation of any law could lead to charges of domestic assault and battery, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

Bryant previously claimed he and his wife simply had a verbal argument. His wife, Veronique Bryant, also denied he assaulted her.

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Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/