Assault Case Dropped Against Former Husker Coach Mickey Joseph

LINCOLN–(Apr. 5)–Assault charges against former Nebraska interim head football coach Mickey Joseph have been dismissed.

Prosecutors on Wednesday said the victim didn’t want to testify in the case. A preliminary hearing was set to determine if probable cause existed to move the case onto Lancaster County District Court for arraignment.

According to Lincoln Police, officers were called around 2 p.m. on November 30 to the area of South 34th and Tree Line Drive on a domestic disturbance. The Lincoln Police Department’s call log showed officers were called to the area on a report someone had “pushed, choked, punched” a victim and “pulled the victim’s hair”.

According to court documents released on Dec. 1, officers contacted the victim at the home, who said Joseph had been “verbal and physical” with them before leaving the home.

The victim told responding officers the two were arguing when Joseph allegedly pushed them, forcing them to fall on a couch, and then “placed his hands around (their) throat,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

The victim said they were able to push Joseph off and began walking away when Joseph “grabbed (their) hair from behind and pulled (them) backward, causing (them) to fall to the ground,” the documents state. The victim then said Joseph punched them with a closed fist.

The affidavit stated officers observed “visible redness and swelling around (their) left eye which was consistent with being struck.”

There was another individual in the home at the time, a relative of the victim, who told police they saw Joseph grab the victim by the throat and try to flush a cell phone down the toilet.  That phone was found by police in a container of rice, according to the affidavit.

Joseph had served as an interim head football coach at Nebraska in 2022, taking over the program after head coach Scott Frost was fired Sept. 11.  Joseph also played quarterback at Nebraska in the late 1980s and early 1990s.