Texas Christian University quarterback Trevone Boykin was arrested early Thursday and charged with assaulting a police officer, according to a Bexar County, Texas, court document.
Boykin and wide receiver Preston Miller have been suspended for Saturday’s Alamo Bowl game against Oregon for a “violation of team rules,” TCU head football coach Gary Patterson said in a statement Thursday morning.
“We are disappointed in their actions and apologize to the TCU Horned Frogs Nation, Valero Alamo Bowl and city of San Antonio,” Patterson said in a statement issued by the school’s athletic department.
The statement didn’t specify whether Miller’s suspension was related to Boykin’s arrest.
Boykin, 22, was charged with assault of a public servant, a third-degree felony, and bond was set at $5,000, according to an online search of a county magistrate website.
A person identified by several witnesses as TCU’s starting quarterback was fighting with employees inside Pat O’Brien’s bar in downtown San Antonio at about 2 a.m. (3 a.m. ET), according to a police report cited by Sgt. Romana Lopez, public information officer for the San Antonio Police Department.
He continued to be aggressive after moving outside to the sidewalk, Lopez said.
The person, who was with a group of people trying to get him back to his hotel, charged police officers that had arrived at the scene and “was swinging at” one officer, Lopez said.
Several officers took him to the ground, but he “would not comply with commands to stop resisting” until an officer warned him that he would use a Taser on him, according to Lopez.
On Thursday night, an apology was posted on Boykin’s Twitter account.
“Words can’t describe how sorry I am,” the post reads. “I truly let down my family, teammates and the TCU and Fort Worth communities who have supported me so much.
“I have no excuses for my very poor decision, and I’m embarrassed about it. My teammates are my brothers. There’s nothing I wanted to do more than play one last game with my fellow seniors.”
In his four seasons with the Horned Frogs, Boykin, a senior from Dallas, has accounted for 110 touchdowns passing and rushing and more than 12,000 total yards.
More bad bowl behavior
Boykin’s behavior headlines a group of football players who have faced disciplinary action during college football’s busiest bowl week.
On Wednesday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced that freshman wide receiver Deon Cain, senior kicker Ammon Lakip and junior tight end Jay Jay McCullough have been suspended for the remainder of the season and sent home. Swinney said the players violated team rules.
According to multiple media reports, all three failed drug tests.
No. 1 Clemson faces fourth-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl national semifinal game Thursday, with the winner playing either Alabama or Michigan State for the national championship.
“Those guys have all forfeited their opportunity to be with us for any postseason play,” Swinney said Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced in a statement that sophomore cornerback Tony Brown was sent home from Texas for violation of team rules. The statement did not elaborate what the violation was.
And after a bizarre incident Wednesday, Memphis announced that defensive back Reggis Ball was removed from the Memphis University team.
Video shot by a fan shows Ball on Auburn’s sideline after the Birmingham Bowl — a game that Auburn won 31-10 — wrestling on the ground with Auburn equipment manager, stealing a football and running away with it.
Tom Bowen, Memphis University’s athletics director, apologized to bowl officials and the Auburn team and fans, calling the player’s actions “totally unacceptable.”
