Michigan State has dismissed defensive end Auston Robertson from the football team.
It surfaced earlier on Friday that Robertson was facing a third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge as the result of an alleged incident on April 8th. It didn’t take long for the school to react to that headline hitting the papers before the Spartan defender was dismissed.
“The criminal sexual conduct charges announced today against Auston Robertson are of the most serious nature. Sexual assault has no place in our community,” head coach Mark Dantonio said in a statement. “While there is an ongoing criminal process, we’re extremely disappointed that Auston put himself in this position. He is no longer a member of our football program.”
Robertson was charged with misdemeanor battery back in high school before even arriving in East Lansing but it was the latest troubling set of allegations that led to his quick dismissal from the program this time around. Per the Detroit Free Press, police said he raped a woman in her apartment after walking her home earlier this month.
Dantonio suspended Robertson from the team a day later and then formally booted him once charges were formally filed in the matter on Friday. The Free Press obtained court records that indicate the defensive end’s bond has been set at $75,000 but that he has not been formally arraigned yet.
Robertson played in seven games for the Spartans last season as a true freshman and was one of the team’s top recruits.
The dismissal is the latest in a string of bad news for Dantonio’s program this spring as they seek to reverse things on the field after a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2016. Over a dozen players missed the team’s spring game two weeks ago and several unidentified players were suspended as the school investigates several sexual assault allegations. In addition, a prominent football staffer was also suspended for a month.