Four University of Minnesota football players being investigated in a sexual assault case were kicked off the team Wednesday.
Dominic Jones, a cornerback charged Monday with third- degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman in April, and three teammates – running back E.J. Jones, defensive end Alex Daniels and defensive back Keith Massey – were dismissed from the team, Gophers coach Tim Brewster said.
“It is an honor and a privilege to wear the uniform of the University of Minnesota and we have exceedingly high expectations for each of our student-athletes,” Brewster, a former Broncos tight ends coach, said in a statement. “We spend a considerable amount of time addressing our players regarding their personal conduct and we will not compromise our values. We are establishing a culture of integrity.”
Rutgers: Assistant football coach Chris Demarest entered a not guilty plea to a charge he assaulted his girlfriend in a bar.
Demarest waived a scheduled appearance in Long Branch (N.J.) Municipal Court. A trial date has not been set, according to municipal court administrator Theresa Woods-Coyne.
Demarest was arrested Saturday after police responded to a call from an upscale bar-restaurant at the Jersey shore. According to police, an off-duty detective witnessed the altercation between Demarest and the woman, who has not been identified.
Nebraska: Wide receiver Maurice Purify pleaded no contest to four charges as part of a deal with prosecutors. He awaits word from coach Bill Callahan about disciplinary action.
A Lancaster (Neb.) County judge sentenced him to a year of probation and fined him $1,250. Purify was found guilty of driving while intoxicated, assault, disturbing the peace and hindering arrest. The charges stem from two incidents earlier this year.
Air Force: Tim Horton, who was handpicked by new football coach Troy Calhoun because of his previous experience on the AFA staff, resigned to be the running backs coach at Arkansas.
Horton would have been the offensive coordinator and receivers coach on Calhoun’s staff.
“We look forward to the upcoming season with Clay Hendrix and Blane Morgan working as co-offensive coordinators and Jemal Singleton serving as our running game coordinator,” Calhoun said in a statement.
Wisconsin: Sophomore running back Lance Smith has been suspended from the football team for violating the Big Ten school’s student-athlete discipline policy.
Notre Dame: Charlie Weis gritted his teeth on the witness stand as he recounted telling a priest, “Don’t you dare,” when weight-loss surgery left the coach a candidate for last rites.
“He told me he would give me a prayer for the sick and not a prayer for the dead,” Weis testified in his malpractice lawsuit in Boston against the surgeons who performed his 2002 gastric bypass surgery.
Weis is suing Charles Ferguson, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s surgical residency program, and Richard Hodin, a surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School, accusing them of botching the surgery that took place when he was with the New England Patriots.
North Carolina: Men’s basketball coach Roy Williams announced that he has vertigo.
“It hasn’t been very pleasant the last couple of days,” he said. “I’m trying to get some extra home-cooked meals out of it.”
Tennessee: Men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl has agreed in principle to a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the SEC school through 2013.
