ESPN’s Jay Mariotti is arrested on suspicion of domestic assault

ESPN personality and sports columnist Jay Mariotti was released from jail on $50,000 bail Saturday, hours after being arrested on suspicion of felony domestic assault, authorities said.

Mariotti, 51, was arrested Saturday about 4 a.m. after an argument with his girlfriend, authorities said.

Mariotti is a well-known sports commentator who can be seen on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.” He also writes for the sports website Fanhouse.com, where he is known for criticizing athletes for their actions on and off the field. Earlier, he wrote a sports column for the Denver Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.

LAPD sources said that Mariotti allegedly got into an argument with his girlfriend at a club in Santa Monica and that they were observed exchanging harsh words before leaving in a car. Mariotti became angry after he suspected his girlfriend of flirting with another man, police sources said.

The argument continued at the couple’s Venice-area apartment, where Mariotti allegedly pushed and shoved the woman. During the altercation, Mariotti grabbed her arm, leaving marks, the sources said.

Police were called to the apartment and found his girlfriend, who has not been identified, with cuts and bruises.

Neither ESPN nor Mariotti offered comment on the arrest Saturday.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

garrett.therolf@latimes.com