Pittsburgh is the new Cincy ... and Kobe didn't do it

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ORLANDO, Fla. - A Florida woman is suing Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes(notes), saying the one-time Super Bowl MVP hit her in the face with a glass at an Orlando nightclub and then offered to pay her so she wouldn't press charges.

Anshonoe Mills claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that Holmes grabbed her face and threw the glass at her because she was sitting on a couch in the Rain Night Club's VIP section on March 7.

The lawsuit said the glass hit Mills on the right side of the face, cutting the woman near the eye. The four-page document also claimed Holmes and a police officer intimidated Mills so she wouldn't press charges.

Holmes offered to pay Mills because he was an NFL star and couldn't afford to get into trouble, the lawsuit said. The woman felt pressured and incoherently told police that she was hit in the face and was bleeding but wouldn't press charges, according to the lawsuit.

Mills is seeking more than US$15,000 in damages from Holmes, who was MVP of the Super Bowl played after the 2008 season.

Orlando Police Sgt. Barbara Jones hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said team officials were gathering information and had no further comment.

Holmes' teammate, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(notes), was accused earlier this month of assaulting a 20-year-old Georgia college student. He has not been charged in that case.

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