Now we know what Illinois coach Ron Zook meant when he said he would ‘deal with’ linebacker Jonathan Brown for kneeing Northwestern lineman Patrick Ward in the groin during last Saturday’s game.
Although Zook was vague in describing what, if any, punishment Brown would receive for the cheap shot yesterday, an official press release from the school states that Zook has suspended Brown for next week’s game, which just so happens to be against Indiana.
“We are extremely disappointed by what happened on Saturday and Jonathan knows that,” Zook said in a statement. “We don’t condone that type of behavior in our program. I’ve talked to Jonathan and he understands that. He is a good person, a spiritual person, and no one feels worse about it than him. But he got caught up in the moment, made a serious mistake and must deal with the consequences.”
The Big Ten has also reprimanded Brown for his actions.
“I apologize to my family, my teammates and the Illinois fans for letting themdown,” Brown added. “I also would like to apologize to the Northwestern team for my actions. What I did was out of character and won’t happen again.”
Brown is second on the team with 30 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks.