Corey Dillon cares about what people think of him as a person. The Bengals running back, charged with fourth-degree assault against his wife, wanted to tell his side of the story Thursday at Paul Brown Stadium and say why it's important for people to know what he is and what he isn't.

        “A lot of times, what the problem is, people are trying to tie me into a reputation they think I have. That's not me any more,” said said, who had a long police record as a juvenile.

        “I'm not going to sit here and let people take my character and run it through the mud. If I'm wrong to protect myself, I'm sorry.”

        Dillon was ar rested Aug.26 for allegedly striking Desiree Antione Dillon in the mouth during an argument that took place in a car in Federal Way, Wash.

        The case went to court in suburban Seattle on Wednesday and was continued until Nov.1.

        “It's in the police report, where it's stated, she assaulted me first,” Dillon said as he thumbed through a stack of public records about his case. “But nobody's writing about that. First of all, I don't care who it is — male, female in a relationship — it's not right to hit, period.”

        Neither the Federal Way Police, court officials nor prosecutor's office would release the police report Thursday. The court did respond to a request for the arrest report and other court records.

        Dillon flew home after playing Aug.25 in Cincinnati in the Bengals' last preseason game.

        “(The incident) had nothing to do with me seeing my daughter,” he said of their child, 20-month-old Cameron. “It was a situation (Desiree) felt I came home for a totally different reason. As soon as I got home, she confronted me. I came home to enjoy my two days off. I wanted to see my daughter, relax with my wife, visit my mom. In the process, this occurred. I was being badgered about my reasons for being home.

        “I'm in the car. We're on our way to get our daughter from her mother's house. In that process, we got halfway down the block, and she hit me several times. I put my hand up to keep from being hit, and she accidently gets hit in the mouth. If that's assault and that's domestic violence, I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally hit her.

        “I didn't ball my fist up. I never reached back open-hand and hit her. I put my hands up to protect myself from being hit.”

        At that point, she stopped the car, got out and called the police, Dillon said.

        “Let's just be honest. What kind of enjoyment am I going to get out of ... My wife's 135 (pounds). I'm 225,” Dillon said. “I get hit every Sunday by people way bigger than her. What kind of satisfaction am I going to get out of hitting my wife? None. Whatsoever. And look at it this way: If I'm going to intentionally hit my wife, and God forbid that thought even come to mind, there's going to be some serious damage.”

        Dillon became a born-again Christian at Easter 1998.

        “This is just another test in my walk with the Lord,” he said. “And this is another test to see how I am going to handle this. I have my faith. He's my rock. And, hey, He's going to see me through this because I didn't really understand why until I started reading the Bible. There's something far greater than what I'm doing in football. I got souls to save. And this is another attempt to throw me off my way. At first, I didn't understand that.

        “I was baptized, and when that happens, you're a new creature. All that past stuff, that's not me. I'm not going to sit back and let people tie me to the mistakes I made in the past. I refuse to let that happen. That's totally not me.”

        Dillon and his wife are estranged but are talking. The restraining order filed against Dillon in August has been lifted, he said.

        “My wife ain't a bad person. It wasn't her. I don't want my wife to look like a bad person. People do stuff they regret. I do stuff I regret, but I didn't do this,” he said. “I am not a woman beater. You can call me what you want, but I am not this. I did not intentionally put my hands on my wife. I would never do that.

        “We're talking again. We've been through a lot. There are things I have to overlook to see the big picture. And the big picture is my family. My daughter, my wife. That's the big picture. We're trying to work things out. It's tough. This was a major blow.”

        He is leaning on his faith.

        “If I wasn't the person I was today, I couldn't handle this,” Dillon said. “I would have lost my mind. "God, why is this happening to me?' But I'm a strong person, and I've been through stuff like this before, and I refuse to let something like this dictate or ruin my future.”

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