Rodney Austin on assault allegations from ex-girlfriend: 'I never touched her'

Former Detroit Lions offensive lineman Rodney Austin has denied allegations from his ex-girlfriend that he assaulted her.

Austin was convicted of assault on his ex-girlfriend and a child under 12 on Thursday, but tells ESPN's Michael Rothstein the allegations are false.

"I never touched her. Never hit her. Never pushed her," Austin said. "I would never do anything like that. I'm not that type of person. Then a lot of the little details she tried to paint to make it seem like I attacked her, which (were) completely bogus."

He was sentenced to one year of supervised probation. Once that is completed he will have his charges dismissed.

Austin did concede, though, that he destroyed a cell phone belonging to the woman that he gave to her after she threatened to send recordings of the two arguing to the NFL and the Lions.

"I had grown tired of her saying I'm going to use this and destroy you and this, that and the third," Austin said. "You've got to understand. This is a phone that I provided for her. So when people start, it's not like I just was, I don't know, man.

"This is something that has happened over and over and over. It gets old and it gets tired and I was sick of her using the things that I provide for her to try and hurt me."

The 26-year-old is a free agent, but given this incident and climate in the league right now, it seems unlikely anyone would take a chance on him.