Thursday, December 16, 2004
INCIDENTALLY
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"We're not perfect. People make mistakes"
Rutgers University Athletic Director Robert E.Mulcahy III commenting on "the incidents."
The incidents
The string of events began in October 2003, when two students affiliated with the Rutgers wrestling program were involved in an early-morning brawl outside the Squamish fraternity house. The incident left two University students hospitalized. Jonathan Rodriguez, a former wrestler, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree aggravated assault and in September received a five-year sentence for striking the two students with a wooden baseball bat. His younger brother, Kenneth Rodriguez, a Rutgers wrestler at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension for trying to hide the bat and was sentenced to 180 days in prison. The Rodriguez brothers were two of eight defendants charged as a result of the incident.
In February of this year, Rutgers football player Alfred Peterson, a University College junior, was charged with criminal sexual contact and aggravated assault for allegedly slapping a female student on the buttocks and punching her multiple times. Although the case has not been settled in court, the University student judiciary committee cleared Peterson of wrongdoing. He was permitted to play this past season.
In April, it was uncovered that another former football player, Davon Clark - who was part of the same recruiting class as Peterson - was indicted on charges of murder, hindering apprehension and weapons offenses in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting of a 25-year old Paterson woman. At the time, prosecutors said Clark, who had history of off-the-field trouble within the football program, provided a man with the gun used to kill the woman. He is no longer affiliated with the University. In June, Rutgers football recruit Anthony Miller - before arriving at the University - was charged with aggravated assault of a police officer after a reported fight at a local strip mall. It was Miller's second run-in with the law this year. Miller, a University College first-year student, was permitted to play this season.
The situation reached a climax in September when reports surfaced that Hurns, University College junior, held then-girlfriend and former Rutgers soccer player Kelly Evans captive on July 10. According to various reports, the dispute began at Evans' Guilden Street home when she stopped Hurns from taking some prescription pills by flushing them down the toilet. The incident escalated rapidly from there, with Hurns reportedly tying Evans up with tape, hitting her in the face, sticking a steak knife into her bed and writing on her body in marker. Hurns eventually pled guilty to two charges - terroristic threats and criminal restraint - leading to her three-year probation sentence. Reports said Hurns agreed to a mental health evaluation and to seek treatment for substance abuse. The athletic department suspended Hurns, who was dismissed from two other universities prior to her arrival at Rutgers, for one year, meaning, as a senior, she has played her last game for the Scarlet Knights.
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"We're not perfect. People make mistakes"
Rutgers University Athletic Director Robert E.Mulcahy III commenting on "the incidents."
The incidents
The string of events began in October 2003, when two students affiliated with the Rutgers wrestling program were involved in an early-morning brawl outside the Squamish fraternity house. The incident left two University students hospitalized. Jonathan Rodriguez, a former wrestler, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree aggravated assault and in September received a five-year sentence for striking the two students with a wooden baseball bat. His younger brother, Kenneth Rodriguez, a Rutgers wrestler at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension for trying to hide the bat and was sentenced to 180 days in prison. The Rodriguez brothers were two of eight defendants charged as a result of the incident.
In February of this year, Rutgers football player Alfred Peterson, a University College junior, was charged with criminal sexual contact and aggravated assault for allegedly slapping a female student on the buttocks and punching her multiple times. Although the case has not been settled in court, the University student judiciary committee cleared Peterson of wrongdoing. He was permitted to play this past season.
In April, it was uncovered that another former football player, Davon Clark - who was part of the same recruiting class as Peterson - was indicted on charges of murder, hindering apprehension and weapons offenses in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting of a 25-year old Paterson woman. At the time, prosecutors said Clark, who had history of off-the-field trouble within the football program, provided a man with the gun used to kill the woman. He is no longer affiliated with the University. In June, Rutgers football recruit Anthony Miller - before arriving at the University - was charged with aggravated assault of a police officer after a reported fight at a local strip mall. It was Miller's second run-in with the law this year. Miller, a University College first-year student, was permitted to play this season.
The situation reached a climax in September when reports surfaced that Hurns, University College junior, held then-girlfriend and former Rutgers soccer player Kelly Evans captive on July 10. According to various reports, the dispute began at Evans' Guilden Street home when she stopped Hurns from taking some prescription pills by flushing them down the toilet. The incident escalated rapidly from there, with Hurns reportedly tying Evans up with tape, hitting her in the face, sticking a steak knife into her bed and writing on her body in marker. Hurns eventually pled guilty to two charges - terroristic threats and criminal restraint - leading to her three-year probation sentence. Reports said Hurns agreed to a mental health evaluation and to seek treatment for substance abuse. The athletic department suspended Hurns, who was dismissed from two other universities prior to her arrival at Rutgers, for one year, meaning, as a senior, she has played her last game for the Scarlet Knights.
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