TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -A brawl involving Florida State football players apparently stemmed from bad blood between some of the athletes and members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, a university investigator said Thursday.
Maj. James Russell confirmed that football players – he wouldn’t say how many – were among at least 10 students involved in the fight Wednesday afternoon at the university student union.
“They weren’t just slugging it out for no reason,” Russell said. “We think there is probably some history there.”
Russell said he added a second investigator to the case “to get a better picture of what happened.”
Coach Bobby Bowden said Thursday he expected to hear from authorities soon.
“There’s not much I can say,” Bowden said. “We haven’t gotten the final report yet.”
year on drug and weapons charges. His felony weapons charge was reduced before he could regain his eligibility.
Bowden has already suspended key team members for the past three weeks for breaking team or school rules.
Bowden said he can’t talk about Wednesday’s altercation or possible discipline until after he learns what action, if any, university police will take after investigating.
The veteran coach said he wasn’t sure of what action he would take if the police report is made public before Saturday’s homecoming game against Boston College.
“I don’t know,” Bowden said Thursday. “I’d have to go talk to our athletic director.”
Authorities said the brawl has required a criminal investigation, it does not necessarily mean anyone will be arrested.
The Seminoles (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) began the season missing 12 players. One missed the first two games and the others three games for their roles in an academic cheating scandal some 20 months ago. Florida State imposed penalties on itself, including the suspensions and scholarships taken away from teams that had members involved. The NCAA is deciding whether it will impose additional punishment.
Bert Reed missed games against Clemson and Virginia Tech, in one instance for skipping classes, and Corey Surrency was suspended for the Georgia Tech game for a violation of team policy. Both also are receivers.
used freshmen also sat out last week’s Clemson game for an unspecified violation of team rules or school policy. The most typical suspensions are for missing classes or failing random drug tests.
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