Ex-NFL Player Undergoes Psychological Testing in Domestic Abuse Case

An initial hearing for former NFL player Corwin Brown on charges he struck his wife and held her against her will in their home was put on hold Tuesday while he undergoes psychological testing.

Defense attorney Mike Tuszynski told St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward-Miller that the former Notre Dame defensive coordinator was at the University of Michigan Hospital. All Tuszynski would say outside court was that Brown was hospitalized.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ken Cotter said Brown's wife, Melissa, requested the testing.

"The state's not going to stand in the way," he said.

Brown, 41, faces charges of confinement and domestic battery stemming from a seven-hour standoff with police Aug. 12 at his home in Granger, just northeast of South Bend. Prosecutors say Brown held his wife hostage with a handgun and bruised her.

The standoff ended after Brown shot himself in the abdomen.

He was arrested Sept. 9 after being released from a mental health facility in South Bend and was released from the St. Joseph County Jail on Sept. 12 after being arraigned and posting $5,000 bond.

Brown's family has said they believe his actions might stem from brain trauma he suffered while playing football. Brown played in college at Michigan and played eight seasons in the NFL as a defensive back with the Patriots, Jets and Lions. His family has said they believe he may suffer from the same type of brain trauma as Dave Duerson, the former Chicago Bears star who committed suicide in February.

Tuszynski wouldn't comment when asked whether the testing Brown was undergoing was related to that.

Woodward-Miller set a new initial hearing date of Nov. 30, but Cotter asked that it be moved up if Brown is released from the hospital earlier.