It’s not been a good past few days on the legal front for a couple of directional Michigan schools.
Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck announced Thursday afternoon that two of his players -- linebacker Eddie Rolle and defensive lineman Devante Lee -- have been indefinitely suspended from the football program. Fleck would only state that the two were punished for violating unspecified team rules.
However, mlive.com has uncovered the actual reason behind both of the suspensions.
According to the website, Rolle and Lee have been charged with second-degree retail fraud stemming from an incident at a Kalamazoo Walmart in mid-July. The website writes that "[s]econd or third degree retail fraud occurs when an offender steals property with a value of at least $200, but not more than $1,000.”
Lee is already on probation for a marijuana possession charge in October of last year.
While Lee declined to discuss the situation, Rolle proclaimed his innocence, saying, “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
WMU is off this weekend; it’s unclear if either or both players will make the trip to Idaho the following weekend.
Rolle played in three games as a true freshman in 2013, while Lee, who originally signed with Middle Tennessee State, sat out his true freshman season last year to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. Both players are backups who played in the season-opening loss to Purdue.
(Photo credit: Western Michigan athletics)