Well, would you look at that. A little good news for Arizona coming out of the party brawl mess. Very little, but still.
According to multiple media outlets, a criminal assault charge against UA offensive lineman Eric Bender-Ramsay has been dropped by prosecutors. A trespassing charge, however, remains.
Bender-Ramsey was one of four current Wildcat players -- cornerback Jourdon Grandon, offensive tackle Fabbians Ebbele and safety Jared Tevis being the others -- who were arrested very early last Friday morning after a brawl broke out at a party being thrown by UA students. Grandon and Ebbele were charged with criminal assault for allegedly punching female partygoers as well as one count each of criminal trespassing. Tevis was hit with a trespassing charge.
First-year head coach Rich Rodriguez, speaking before practice and after the story had broken yesterday, said that he will be “up-front and honest, of course” with the media regarding the situation, then essentially said he couldn’t really comment on the situation.
"[The arrests are] a matter that we’re looking into very seriously, and we’re going to make sure we go through the whole process. If anything comes up, further developments, we’ll let you know,’ Rodriguez said. “When it’s all done, when the process is done, I’ll make further comments at that time.”
As far as punishment for any of the players involved -- or if they will even remain on the team -- there was no substantial news on that front, although Grandon and Ebbele were held out of practice yesterday.
“We are cooperating fully with the Tucson Police Department, and disciplinary action will be handled accordingly,” athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement. “Due to federal student-privacy laws, we will have no further comment.”
Grandon and Ebbele are scheduled to appear in court March 15. Court dates for the other two have not yet been set.