Arrest nets 2010 starting Herd safety the boot

After starting every game for Marshall in 2010, Donald Brown was demoted to the backup safety spot during spring practice.

Three months later, a demotion is the least of Brown’s on-field worries.

According to a terse one-sentence release from the school, Brown has been dismissed from the football program. The reason for the dismissal is, of course, a violation of unspecified team rules.

A search of the Western Regional Jail website, however, reveals a “Donald Sterling Brown” who was booked into the jail earlier today. The 20-year-old male was listed as 6-0, 180 pounds; Donald Brown, the Herd player, is officially listed at 6-0, 182 pounds. The “imprisonment status” for the Brown in question is “misdemeanor pretrial”.

Subsequently, the Charleston Gazette reported that it was indeed the Herd’s Brown, and that the now-former defensive back was charged with domestic battery . The Gazette also provides a few disturbing details as to what allegedly led to the arrest.

... alleged to have repeatedly struck his wife, who was holding 11-month-old daughter. Daughter was struck in the process, inadvertently. Wife suffered a cut above the eye. … Huntington police the arresting agency.

Brown started all 12 games in 2010 after playing in seven games as a true freshman the previous season. His three interceptions last year tied for the team lead.