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Ex-Florida State running back Mario Pender pleads no contest to battery charge

Former Florida State running back Mario Pender has been sentenced to one year of probation after pleading no contest this week to charges of simple battery and resisting an officer without violence.

The case stems from his May arrest after a Tallahassee Police Department officer saw him straddling his girlfriend with his hands around her neck, according to Leon County court documents. Pender was immediately dismissed from the team, where he was expected to contend for playing time as a backup to star Dalvin Cook.

Pender must also complete a batterer intervention program and spend 30 days in a jail work camp, according to court documents.