Multiple Rutgers Football Players Dismissed After Being Arrested for Assault

Five Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players were charged Sept. 3 with a variety of crimes related to the alleged assault of multiple individuals in April. On Saturday, Nicole Auerbach of USA Today revealed the players were "dismissed from the football program."

According to documents obtained by Keith Sargeant of NJ Advance Media, the five players—Nadir Barnwell, Ruhann Peele, Andre Boggs, Delon Stephenson and Razohnn Gross—were among 10 people charged in multiple violent crimes that vary from robbery to the breaking of another student's jaw.

Nine of the 10 defendants were arrested Thursday, but Daryl Stephenson—brother of Delon and former Rutgers student—remains at large. Rutgers initially suspended the students, pending the investigation, but ultimately decided to dismiss the players. 

"The students involved are currently suspended from our program," athletics director Julie Hermann originally said in a statement, per Sargeant. "We continue to monitor the situation. We will have no further comment as this is a pending legal matter."

The arrests come as part of an ongoing investigation into multiple crimes committed this spring. The Rutgers players have been indicted on charges relating to an April brawl, in which they allegedly jumped other individuals unprovoked following an altercation. The man, a 19-year-old student, suffered a broken jaw. 

News of the arrests comes in the same week that it was revealed Rutgers coach Kyle Flood is under investigation for academic impropriety. Sargeant reported Flood contacted a university professor in an attempt to help Barnwell gain eligibility. The head coach allegedly went behind the university's back and emailed a professor from his private account, perhaps in hopes of changing the grade.

"Any correspondence that I had with a professor in regard to a student-athlete would really be of this nature: One, to be in support of whatever decision that faculty member made, and two, to inquire as to whether or not there would be an opportunity to earn a better grade," Flood said.

Barnwell was a projected starter at cornerback, while Peele was expected to be an integral backup. Delon Stephenson was the team's projected starting free safety. 

Even if Flood is found not guilty of attempting to coerce a professor, his program appears to be going up in flames just days before the 2015 season opens against Norfolk State. Flood was already facing pressure after an up-and-down first three seasons as head coach, and these controversies are only going to make his seat hotter. 

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