Skip to content
Search

Ex-NFL Star and Podcaster Marcellus Wiley Arrested for Domestic Battery

Former football star's July 4th arrest comes two months after four more women accused him of sexual assault in court filings

Ex-NFL Star and Podcaster Marcellus Wiley Arrested for Domestic Battery

Marcellus Wiley

Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

Marcellus Wiley was arrested Saturday on a charge of domestic battery, the latest in a series of legal issues against the former football player-turned-podcaster.

An inmate search confirms that Wiley was booked into Orange County Corrections in Orlando, Florida on the Fourth of July on one count of domestic battery, where he remained at press time pending his court hearing. TMZ first reported news of Wiley’s arrest, the details of which have not been revealed.


The arrest comes over two months after Wiley was accused of sexual assault by four accusers, including a former ESPN production assistant; following his retirement from football in 2006, Wiley became at sportscaster at ESPN, where he worked until 2018.

The four women’s allegations surfaced in April in court filings after three other women previously sued Wiley with allegations he raped them in New York when he was a student and star football player at Columbia University in 1994.

The former ESPN assistant alleges Wiley lured her to a hotel room in 2009 under the guise of a work meeting, then emerged naked from a bathroom and attacked her. “He pushed me up against the windows of the room so hard I thought they would shatter,” she wrote. “I was petrified and believed I was going to be killed.”

Two other new accusers allege Wiley raped them in the late 1990s after Columbia placed him on probation over earlier sexual assault complaints. One says he attacked her at her mother’s Culver City apartment while her family was nearby.

Wiley denied the allegations in a May episode of his podcast, saying, “They are attempting to leverage lies for personal gain, as they say, assassination by accusation, that’s their goal. They trying by lying.”

A rep for Wiley did not respond to Rolling Stone about Wiley’s July 4th arrest at press time. A former Pro Bowl defensive end for San Diego Chargers, Wiley is married to Annemarie Wiley, who appeared on a recent season of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

More Stories

Nolan Wells’ Family Demands ‘Thorough’ Investigation: Death ‘Does Not Make Sense’

Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, was found dead on an island in Mississippi.

Jackson County Sheriff's Department

Nolan Wells’ Family Demands ‘Thorough’ Investigation: Death ‘Does Not Make Sense’

The family of Nolan Wells, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, and activist Rev. Al Sharpton held a press conference in New York Friday, July 10, demanding a “thorough” investigation into the death of the 18-year-old football player who had last been seen on Horn Island.

“It is clear that this situation must have the most thorough and objective investigation to lead to justice,” Sharpton said Friday. “What we’ve been told does not make sense, and being that there is lack of confidence in the local authorities, who have already, in my judgment, seemed to mishandled where it was going … When we hear that this young man was engaged in some kind of argument that was on tape. That his cell phone and keys ended up with one of the people that were there on the island and got away. He was one Black with three young white men who happened to end up with his phone, happen to end up with his keys. There’s just too many questions that they should not be closing the investigation.”

Keep ReadingShow less
What We Know About Nolan Xavier Wells, the Teen Found Dead in Mississippi

Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, was found dead on an island in Mississippi.

Jackson County Sheriff's Department

What We Know About Nolan Xavier Wells, the Teen Found Dead in Mississippi

Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year old football player from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was with friends on Horn Island, a barrier island near the border of Mississippi and Alabama, when he disappeared on July 4. Two days later, on Monday, July 6, a U.S. Park Ranger found his body on the island where he was last seen. Now, his family has retained attorney Ben Crump and is demanding answers. Here’s what we know so far about Wells and his case.

Who was Nolan Wells, and what was he doing on Horn Island?

On July 4, Wells, a football player at Southwest Mississippi Community College, and several friends traveled to Horn Island, a remote strip of land which is only accessible by private boat. Later that day, the friends came back on another boat. Wells, apparently, had decided to stay on the island. He was last seen around 3 p.m. wearing blue swim trunks and sunglasses. According to a post from Josh Gill, the commander of the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer organization that helped with the search, Wells wanted to stay on the island to talk with a girl.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump Admits Pushing FIFA to Let Birthright Citizen Play World Cup Game

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: FIFA President Gianni Infantino and U.S. President Donald Trump on the red carpet prior the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Tasos Katopodis/FIFA/Getty Images

Trump Admits Pushing FIFA to Let Birthright Citizen Play World Cup Game

Donald Trump admitted to personally pressuring FIFA officials to vacate a one-game suspension for Folarin Balogun after the American striker received a controversial red card during last week’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 32.

“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Luigi Mangione Suddenly Withdraws Psychiatric Defense in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Trial

Luigi Mangione in Manhattan Supreme Court on May 18, 2026 in New York.

Jeenah Moon-Pool/Getty Images

Luigi Mangione Suddenly Withdraws Psychiatric Defense in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Trial

Luigi Mangione’s defense team filed a notice on Thursday to the New York state judge in his murder case, saying they are withdrawing their intent to argue a psychiatric defense.

This comes only one day after Judge Gregory Carro unsealed the defense team’s notice, which revealed they were potentially going to argue that Mangione was under “extreme emotional disturbance” when he allegedly shot United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges against him.

Keep ReadingShow less
New York Knicks Will Celebrate Their NBA Title With the Wu-Tang Clan on ‘Fallon’

Jalen Brunson lifting the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy after the Knicks won their first league title in 53 years.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

New York Knicks Will Celebrate Their NBA Title With the Wu-Tang Clan on ‘Fallon’

One of the first stops on the NBA champion New York Knicks’ celebration tour will be The Tonight Show, where they’ll reunite with the Wu-Tang Clan.

On Monday, the Knicks’ star starting five — Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Annoy, and Mikal Bridges — will join host Jimmy Fallon to celebrate the team’s first title in 53 years. Coach Mike Brown and the rest of the team will also be on hand, as will other special guests.

Keep ReadingShow less