Flowery Branch — Falcons linebacker Michael Boley apologized for his arrest on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge last week and said he was "embarrassed" to have taken attention away from other team-related developments.

Boley made his first public remarks about the arrest after the first of Atlanta's five, mini-camp practices this weekend.

"I'd like to take the opportunity to apologize to [team owner Arthur] Blank, [General Manager Thomas] Dimitroff, coach [Mike] Smith, all the coaches, fans, my family for the incident that happened last weekend," said Boley, who declined to discuss specifics of the arrest. "I can't really say much about it because it's a legal matter. It's something I have to work through."

Smith said he spoke with his starting outside linebacker about the situation and made it clear that the team was not pleased with the negative development, regardless of the circumstance.

"I have spoken to Michael. I'd like to keep that conversation private," Smith said. "I just want everybody to know that I am disappointed. We know that we're disappointed that Michael was in the situation. Anytime we see our guy's name in the paper in the Metro section in a negative light, it's not good."

Boley's wife, Chantelle, accused the third-year player of assaulting her and throwing her out of their Dacula home following an argument. In his account in a police report, Boley acknowledged a confrontation and that he put his wife out of the house.

Boley, the Falcons' second-leading tackler last season (125) and one of their emerging stars, said that he was not distracted when it comes to football.

"Work is work," Boley said. "I learned my rookie year when I got here ... coach [Jim] Mora used to tell us to leave your personal problems at home. This is work. This is your job. What you do here is going to affect your life from here on out. Make sure you're at your best when you get here."

Boley, 25, is viewed as a keystone player for the rebuilding Falcons. He had been engaged in contract negotiations for months, and he signed a restricted free-agent tender on April 10 that keeps him with the club for at least one more year at just more than $2 million. He said that the arrest has not changed his contract status with the team.

"Hadn't nothing changed," Boley said. "Everything is the same."

Boley worked with the first defensive unit Saturday after missing a voluntary veteran mini-camp in April. Boley was recovering from ankle surgery in which screws were inserted to strengthen damaged tendons. He suffered a high ankle sprain in a season-ending victory against Seattle.

Former quarterback Byron Leftwich and tight end Martrez Milner had similar procedures during the 2007 season after severely spraining ankles. Boley recently had the screws removed and showed no signs of being physically limited.

"I thought Michael came out, and it was great to see him back," Smith said. "I'm sure he's going to be a little bit sore because that was the first activity he had."