Buckeyes RB Jaamal Berry charged with assault, suspended

Named in two alleged assaults in less than a month, Ohio State running back Jaamal Berry now finds himself on the receiving end of charges related to one of those incidents.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Berry was charged Wednesday morning with a pair of misdemeanors -- assault and disorderly conduct. OSU confirmed this afternoon that Berry has been indefinitely suspended from the football program, and will not be reinstated until his legal issues are resolved.

The charges against Berry stem from an early-morning on-campus incident Oct. 21.

Berry, a redshirt sophomore running back, was with another African-American male and was allegedly yelling at the victim and his friend, after the victim was struck by a car. The victim, who The Lantern has chosen not to name at this time, said that Berry and his friend were yelling vulgar remarks at him. After asking why they were yelling, the victim said that Berry crossed the street and punched his friend, and then punched him in the face with a closed fist.

The Dispatch also reports that a civil suit was filed against Berry by the victim last week claiming assault and battery as well as ethnic intimidation. This alleged assault was the second of a pair of off-field “issues” Berry and the program have been forced to deal with since late September.

Berry was treated and released from a local hospital following an incident Sept. 28 that was described by police initially as an assault. Berry, however, claimed that he was merely wrestling with the unnamed individual, but was briefly hospitalized after reportedly being disoriented and confused at the scene of the first incident.

No charges have been filed in that case.

In five games this season, Berry, a four-star member of the Buckeyes’ 2009 recruiting class out of Miami, Fla., and the No. 5 RB in the nation according to Rivals, has three carries for five yards.