The ex-wife of former NFL wide receiver Nate Newton has written a memoir exposing the domestic violence that blighted her life after the Dallas Cowboys player won his first Super Bowl.

In her new book, Silent Cry, the true story of abuse and betrayal of an NFL wife, Dorothy Newton writes about living with her ex-husband through the late 80s and 1990s and how he changed.

Ms Newton was married to the three-time Super Bowl winner for eight years but was with him for a total of 14.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated about her book, Ms Newton said: ‘In the beginning, ironically so, there was a lot of verbal abuse and I didn’t recognise it as abuse. The first violence was after the first Super Bowl win. During my time with Nate, there were three Superbowl wins and in fact, we married in January 1992. By the fall season, it had all started. I think that was the first time he physically abused me, although I could see signs, as the verbal abuse began.

‘I do believe there is a root cause to the violence and the things that he placed upon me. I believe the success and the community and the sports bubble. I’m not making excuses. There are a lot of pressures involved. It happened quite often.’

Ms Newton said it was clear that her husband had plenty of character flaws and even was arrested for DUI and DWI.

Following the end of his career, Newtown who was paid $700,000 a year by the Dallas Cowboys tried to earn extra cash by running marijuana across the southern states of the US.

He was jailed in August 2002 of 32 months and fined $25,000.

According to Ms Newton, her ex-husband found God while behind bars but he has never apologized for beating her.

She said: ‘Nate has never looked me in the eye and said I’m sorry for what I did. I don’t need it any more. We communicate on a sister-brother relationship.’

Ms Newton said she was disappointed that the Dallas Cowboys decided to sign Greg Hardy after his history of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder.

Ms Newton said she believed the Dallas Cowyboys would have known that she was being verbally and emotionally abused by her then-husband.