Predators forward Austin Watson arrested on domestic assault charge: reports

June 20--Austin Watson, a forward for the Nashville Predators, was arrested Saturday in Franklin, Tenn. and charged with domestic assault, according to multiple reports.

According to the Tennessean, which obtained an arrest affidavit, a witness flagged down a Franklin police officer who saw a passenger in a car at a Shell station try to back away from being shoved. The passenger said "stop" and was covering her face amid an argument with Watson, who admitted to pushing the woman described as his girlfriend, according to the report. The officer saw red marks on the woman's chest.

Watson, 26, is free on a $4,500 bond and due in Williamson County court on June 28, the paper reported.

"We are still gathering facts and it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time, but this is a matter that we are taking very seriously and will cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement," the Predators said in a statement to the Tennessean. "The Nashville Predators have and will continue to stand side by side with AMEND in the fight to end violence against women."

AMEND Together is a program of the YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee which "seeks to end the epidemic of violence against women and girls by empowering young men and boys to become the catalyst for cultural change," according to the program's website.

Last year, according to the Tennessean, Watson and three other Predators players were part of a public awareness campaign called "Unsilence the Violence," while the Nashville Predators Foundation pledged $500,000 to the program.

The Predators selected Watson No. 18 overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He just completed the first year of a three-year, $3.3 million contract.

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