Carolina Panthers' Vernon Butler Issued Class C Assault Citation

Dallas police issued Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Vernon Butler a Class C Assault citation Thursday following an accusation from a woman that he pushed and injured her in a Dallas nightclub in July.

Initial reports stated the incident occurred on July 14 at a club on Pacific Avenue when the woman rejected Butler's advances after he spotted her in the club. She had earlier spurned his overtures on social media as well.

As per WSOC TV, Butler threw ice on her face and then pushed her out of the VIP section. The woman claimed she fell down the stairs before being pushed by him again, resulting in bruises on her face before security escorted her out.

With a Class C Assault citation now issued by the Dallas Police Department as reported by WCCB Charlotte, Butler has 21 days to either respond to the citation or set a court date.

According to Texas law, a Class C Assault is issued if an offending person "intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury" or "causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative."

It is the lowest level of crime and is punishable by a maximum $500 fine. It does not result in any jail time or stay on one's record. However, the woman's lawyer Justin Moore was hoping to get it bumped up to a Class A misdemeanor.

"The contention is that they bump it up to a Class A misdemeanor or leave it as a ticketed offense," Moore said last month. "Violence against women should not be diminished to running a red light or a stop sign. Her concern is a concern that is shared by a lot of other women. Violence against women isn't treated seriously."

When the initial reports were released, Panthers PR director Steven Drummond said the team were in the process of gathering all the information.

The Panthers were yet to comment on Thursday's developments and it is unclear if this affects their plans for him in Friday night's preseason game against the New England Patriots.

He can however, expect to be disciplined by the NFL. It would be interesting to see how the Panthers handle the situation, given they decided not to re-sign Greg Hardy in 2015 after his domestic violence case.

"She just wants him to answer for what he did that night in Dallas," Moore added at the time. "So it's up to the Carolina Panthers and the NFL to punish him and how they punish him."

"I don't want to speak too far into why I generated that sense. Just from talking to folks who have been looking at this case - I kind of feel that they want this thing to go away as soon as possible, whether if that's a slap on the wrist or sweeping it under the rug - that is a strong possibility."

Butler was a first round, No. 30 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.