Texas Tech announced Monday that linebacker Daniel Cobb (posing, right) had been reinstated to the Red Raiders football team after a felony charge against him had been dropped by the Lubbock District Attorney’s office. The linebacker had been accused of using force to enter a female’s apartment and physically assaulting the alleged victim, and was dismissed in late August.
Head coach Tommy Tuberville trumpeted the DA’s decision as the culmination of Cobb spending the past two and a half months “trying to clear his name,” tossing around phrases such as “no wrongdoing whatsoever” and “100-percent innocent.”
As it turns out, it’s not as simple — or heroic — as portrayed by Tuberville.
According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, the decision to drop the felony charge only came after both Cobb and the alleged victim agreed to a protective order barring the former from coming into contact with the latter.
“It’s true there’s no criminal case pending,” deputy district attorney Sunshine Stanek told the Avalanche-Journal, presumably referring to Tuberville’s complete exoneration of his player. “However, there is this agreed protective order, which is the ultimate resolution of the case. The criminal case was rejected, and both parties entered into an agreed protective order.”
Cobb, who practice with his teammates for the first time since mid-August Sunday night, is expected to be in uniform and available to play in the Red Raiders’ Big 12 game against TCU.