Former Seattle Seahawks player Chad Wheeler pleaded not guilty Monday to three criminal charges following the alleged attack against his girlfriend.

The 27-year-old lineman pleaded not guilty in court to the following charges: first-degree domestic violence assault and domestic violence unlawful imprisonment, as well as misdemeanor resisting arrest.  

Following the incident, the woman reportedly lost consciousness, suffered from a dislocated arm and other injuries after Wheeler allegedly choked and nearly killed her. According to a Kent Police Department report obtained by The Seattle Times, the situation began after Wheeler's girlfriend refused to bow to him after he demanded her to do so. He then allegedly proceeded to throw her onto the bed, choke her and render her unconscious. 

"Wow, you're still alive?" Wheeler allegedly said to her when she regained some consciousness, as Blavity previously reported.

She ran to the bathroom to call 911 and reported that she was being "killed." When police arrived, they heard screaming from inside the apartment and once they gained access, they used force to remove Wheeler.

Though Wheeler's girlfriend was present during the court proceedings, she made a public statement “through a victim advocate” according to CNN, expressing how Wheeler's release impacted her sense of safety.

"Chad is out of custody staying in a hotel watching this play out on social media," the statement read, according to CNN. "This current status places my safety at risk, and I do not believe that a protective order or a condition of release is sufficient to keep me safe.”

Wheeler took to Twitter to publicly address the domestic violence incident on Jan. 27, referring to it as "events happened… that transpired from a manic episode." He also wrote in separate tweets that he needed to get help to prevent him from being a further threat to others, and he apologized for the suffering he caused his girlfriend and her family. 

While Wheeler’s lawyers pleaded for him to be returned to his Hawaii residence, according to Komo News, the judge ordered Wheeler to remain in the state of Washington and wear a home monitoring device as a condition of his release until the trial. His official trial is set to begin on April 6. Wheeler was initially charged with domestic violence on Jan. 23 after reports of assaulting his girlfriend in their suburban home located in Kent. He was arrested earlier that Saturday morning and later released after posting $400,000 in bail, as Blavity previously reported.

Chad-WheelerDomestic-violenceFootballSeattle-Seahawks