STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -Off-the-field issues are mounting at Penn State.
Less than a week after running back Austin Scott was suspended for violating a team rule, coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday that he was looking into the possibility that some Nittany Lions may have been involved in a fight.
The fight comes months after Paterno, angry about an April fight involving football players, decided to force the entire team to pick up garbage the day after games at Beaver Stadium.
“I’ve been alerted there might have been a couple football players involved in a fight. To what extent, to what degree, what happened, I’m not quite sure yet,” Paterno said when asked whether players were involved in a weekend altercation.
“Until I find out what’s going on, I think I’d be better off just not getting into that,” Paterno said Tuesday at his weekly news conference.
Tyrone Parham, the assistant university police director, declined to comment on whether any football players were under investigation for any weekend incidents.
“We can’t confirm anyone’s affiliation with Penn State,” Parham said. “We don’t confirm anything until a person is charged.”
A university police log listed an investigation into an alleged “simple assault/harassment/disorderly conduct” case after being called at 1:45 a.m. Sunday, nearly seven hours after Penn State (4-2) defeated Iowa. One person suffered a bloody nose and was treated at the scene, Parham said.
Paterno said there was no change in status with Scott, the tailback was suspended the day before the win over the Hawkeyes. Scott is listed as the third-string tailback for this weekend’s game against Wisconsin, though Paterno said he would not play. The coach declined to say what rule Scott had broken.
There was no formal investigation into Scott by the university’s judicial affairs office as of Tuesday, school officials said.
Also this weekend, two freshmen – punter Ryan Breen and backup tailback Joe Suhey – were cited by police for underage drinking. Neither player has seen game action this season.
Tight end Andrew Quarless and backup defensive back Willie Harriott had been suspended by Paterno for a couple games earlier this year after university police cited them for underage drinking.
The rash of legal woes comes about six months after authorities said several player were involved in a fight at an off-campus party in which two people were hurt and treated at a hospital. Ten players were disciplined by the university for their roles in the April 1 altercation.
Two of the players, safety Anthony Scirrotto and defensive lineman Chris Baker, are scheduled to stand trial in December on criminal charges in connection with that fight.
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