The Rutgers football season is set to start on Saturday when the Scarlet Knights kick off against Norfolk State. So the excitement surrounding the program should be high. But instead of talking football at the moment, Rutgers fans are left to wonder what in the world their coaches and players are doing right now.
Recently, Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood (pictured above) came under fire for reportedly reaching out to a Rutgers professor regarding the grades of one of his players Nadir Barnwell. And now, Barnwell and several of his teammates have been charged with attacking a group of people in New Brunswick, N.J. back in April and breaking a man's jaw.
Barnwell, Ruhann Peele, Rahzonn Gross, and Delon Stephenson stand accused of assaulting a group of individuals in what is being described as an unprovoked attack. According to the Middlesex County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office, the four men listed above as well as two other men not associated with the Rutgers team "surrounded a group of at least four other individuals, including a Rutgers student, and assaulted them during an incident…on April 25, 2015." The men were all charged with aggravated assault, riot, and conspiracy to commit a riot. Another Rutgers player Dre Boggs was also charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and attempted burglary stemming from separate incidents that happened during the same time period.
The five players have all been suspended from the Rutgers program. “The students involved are currently suspended from our program,” athletic director Julie Hermann said in a statement today. “We continue to monitor the situation. We will have no further comment as this is a pending legal matter.”
These kinds of charges filed against the Rutgers players would obviously never be good. But could the timing of them be any worse? Stay tuned for additional details.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via NJ.com]
