Bears knew of Marshall incident

CHICAGO, March 14 (UPI) -- The Chicago Bears knew before acquiring Brandon Marshall that he had been accused of punching a woman in the face in New York, the team said Wednesday.

A woman alleges she suffered a black eye when Marshall, swinging at an unidentified football player, punched her outside a Chelsea nightclub over the weekend, the New York Post reported.

Bears general manager Phil Emery said in a statement the team knew about the incident before making the trade with the Miami Dolphins Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"We decided to move forward with the trade," the statement said. "We have high expectations for Brandon as a Bear."

The Bears traded two third-round draft picks for the wide receiver.

Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for Marshall, said the player's wife had been struck with a bottle during a fight at the club. Steinberg said Marshall took his wife to a hospital with "serious injuries."

The Tribune said Marshall has twice been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.