http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5611310
PITTSBURGH -- Former
Pittsburgh
defensive back (negro) Jeff Knox Jr., kicked off the team hours before its 31-3
loss to Miami, has been charged with assault for allegedly slapping and
choking a woman after she told him she was pregnant.
Knox, 18,
cursed at the woman, slapped her and choked her Wednesday night in front
of a dormitory at Chatham University, a smaller private school not far
from the Pitt campus, according to a criminal complaint filed by Chatham
campus police.
Online court records do not list an attorney for
Knox, who played his first two seasons of high school football at
Pittsburgh Central Catholic before finishing up at DeMatha Catholic in
Maryland.
After Thursday's night's game, coach Dave Wannstedt
called Knox's actions, "Very disappointing. Some things we won't
tolerate. That's one of them."
Knox, a freshman, didn't play in
the first two games for the 1-2 Panthers, who are losing players to
suspension faster than they are losing games.
Offensive lineman
Keith Coleman and running back Jason Douglas were also arrested this
month and are suspended from the team. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard did
not miss any games after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct following
a July fight in Pittsburgh.
In Knox's case, Chatham police
responded to a 911 call of a man choking a woman. The victim, a Chatham
student, told police that Knox assaulted her after she found out she was
pregnant and called to tell him, according to a criminal affidavit.
The
woman acknowledged trying to hit Knox before he slapped her in the head
and knocked her to the ground, the affidavit said. Knox then picked up
the woman and was choking her against a wall, the victim told police. He
also knocked down two female friends who tried to stop him, according
to the affidavit.
Knox is charged with simple assault, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
Among
the other players with legal difficulties, Douglas faces perhaps the
most serious charges. The backup tailback was arrested after witnesses
told police a motorist hit a pedestrian on the city's bar-filled South
Side about 1:40 a.m. on Sept. 12. The pedestrian was hospitalized with
head and neck injuries.
"Hey, I play for Pitt football," Douglas told officers, according to a police complaint and affidavit. "Please don't arrest me."
He
faces a preliminary hearing in Pittsburgh City Court Oct. 28 on charges
including vehicular aggravated assault and drunken driving.
Coleman,
20, also has an Oct. 28 court date to face charges including aggravated
assault and disorderly conduct. Pittsburgh police said Coleman fought
with a man after he spoke with two women, angering their male
companions.
In August, Wannstedt decided not to suspend Sheard
after he apologized and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for
throwing a man through an art gallery's glass door during a July 18
fight. Sheard was fined $300 and otherwise disciplined by the team,
although Wannstedt didn't disclose how.
Edited by: Colonel_Reb