AROUND THE NFL Thursday’s news & notes

Witten leaving MNF to return to the Cowboys

FRISCO, TEXAS

Jason Witten said the hardest thing about deciding to retire nine months ago was leaving football without winning a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.

The 36-year-old tight end is giving it another shot.

Witten announced Thursday he is coming out of retirement and rejoining the Cowboys after one season as a television analyst. The 11-time Pro Bowler will play on a one-year contract worth about $5 million.

“The fire inside of me to compete and play this game is just burning too strong,” Witten said. “This team has a great group of rising young stars, and I want to help them make a run at a championship. This was completely my decision, and I am very comfortable with it.”

The closest Witten came to shedding a tear during an emotional farewell ceremony last May was when he turned to owner Jerry Jones and said, “The hardest part of this decision was knowing that I would never be able to hand you that Lombardi Trophy.”

WR Thomas arrested for vehicular assault

DENVER

Former Denver Broncos and Houston Texans receiver Demaryius Thomas has been arrested on allegations including felony vehicular assault stemming from a crash earlier this month.

Thomas was taken into custody Wednesday after turning himself in and was also being held on allegations of reckless driving and not having proof of insurance, both misdemeanors, police said Thursday.

Thomas was involved in a crash on Feb. 16, a few days after he was released by the Texans. In a statement laying out the reasons for his arrest, police said Thomas was driving over 70 mph, more than twice the 30 mph speed limit, at around 12:20 a.m. near downtown Denver when his SUV went off the road and went airborne, flipping end-over-end, after hitting a median. The SUV landed on its wheels and one of his two passengers suffered serious injuries, the document said.

Thomas and the other passenger also were taken to the hospital after the crash.

Patriots owner pleads not guilty to solicitation

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution in a Florida case, according to court documents released Thursday.

Kraft’s attorney Jack Goldberger filed the written plea with the Palm Beach County court on Wednesday. Kraft, 77, is requesting a non-jury trial.

Kraft was among hundreds of men charged in a crackdown on massage parlor prostitution and an investigation into human trafficking at Florida spas. Ten spas have been closed and several people, mostly women originally from China, have been charged with running the operation.

Jupiter, Fla., police say in court documents that Kraft was chauffeured to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in a 2014 white Bentley on the evening of Jan. 19, where investigators say they videotaped him engaging in a sex act and then handing over an undetermined amount of cash.

Kraft returned 17 hours later, arriving at the upper-middle class shopping center where the spa was located in a chauffeured 2015 blue Bentley, the documents said. Kraft, who is worth $6 billion, was videotaped engaging in sex acts before paying with a $100 bill and another bill, police said. He then flew to Kansas City to watch his Patriots defeat the Chiefs in overtime hours later.

McCarthy allegedly berates prep officials

PULASKI< WIS.

A complaint has been filed against former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, accusing him of verbally berating referees after a loss for his stepson’s high school basketball team.

The Pulaski School District confirms it was McCarthy who confronted the officials and followed them as they were escorted from a game Tuesday. Pulaski High School defeated Notre Dame Academy by one point, ending its season. McCarthy’s stepson is a member of the Notre Dame team.

Pulaski athletic director Janel Batten says the unsportsmanlike language is unacceptable. WLUK-TV reports the referees filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is the high school sports regulatory body.

The sports agency representing McCarthy didn’t immediately return a request for comment. McCarthy was fired in December , his 13th season with the Packers.

Associated Press