Suddenly and abruptly, there’s a boatload of news coming out of Miami Wednesday evening, and unfortunately for the football program none of it’s of the good variety.
In a press release issued by the school a short time ago, Miami announced that they have “become aware of the serious charges made against a student athlete, and he has been suspended indefinitely from the football program. In accordance with its procedures, the University cannot comment further at this time.”
That was the extent of the release, and the the school would not divulge the player’s name or the specifics of the charges the player’s facing.
Additionally, InsideTheU.com reported earlier today that four players have been suspended for at least the regular-season opener thanks to two separate incidents late last month. One incident on April 27 involved running back Storm Johnson, linebacker Travis Williams and cornerback Keion Payne, while the other occurred April 29 and involved offensive lineman Jermaine Barton. No details were given, although the police were apparently involved in the former incident.
The Sun Sentinel reports that the four suspensions reported today do not appear to be related to the suspension revealed in Miami’s press release.
If the website’s report is correct, however, that would mean at least 8 Miami Hurricanes will be suspended for at least the opener; in March, it was reported that six Hurricanes would be suspended for the ’11 opener, including offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, linebacker Kelvin Cain, defensive lineman Dyron Dye and defensive back Devont’a Davis. Johnson and Payne had also been mentioned in the initial report on suspensions two months ago, and could face more than a one-game suspension for repeatedly being a repeat offender.
Shortly after that March report surfaced, head coach Al Golden would neither confirm nor deny its veracity.
We suspect the same sounds of silence will be forthcoming from the South Florida school regarding this latest report of suspensions as well.
UPDATED 6:42 p.m. ET: According to NBC Miami.com, the player whose suspension was announced today by Miami is redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jeffrey Brown. The website reports that Brown surrendered to police Wednesday and was charged with sexual battery.
It’s alleged by police that Brown raped an unnamed female on campus April 30 while she was drunk and sleeping.“As the victim was sleeping, [Brown] pulled off the victim’s blanket and got on top of her,” the arrest report stated. “He then removed the victim’s underwear.”
The woman told Brown to stop, but he continued and had sex with her against her will, she told police.
When questioned by police, Brown denied the allegations, but when presented with evidence, he changed his story and admitted to having sex with the woman, police said.