Shortly before Thursday's final scrimmage of the preseason, Coach Gary Pinkel announced the indefinite suspension of starting senior running back and co-captain Derrick Washington for "disciplinary reasons." Coach Pinkel declined to elaborate on the situation, citing his personal policy on refusing to discuss disciplinary issues.
Washington also was recently named to the 2010 Doak Walker Award watch list, one of nine Big 12 players to be nominated.
Shortly after this announcement, the Columbia Missourian obtained court documents that called for an "order of protection" against Washington stemming from an alleged incident June 19th. Within the order, a female recent MU graduate claimed Washington sexually assaulted her that night after entering her room "unprovoked."
A number of different events have transpired since the issuing of this order on June 22nd. The alleged victim requested a continuance a day before the initial July 7th hearing. Neither party appeared at the rescheduled date of July 21st, and the case was dismissed without prejudice.
The alleged victim has since moved out of state.
The University of Missouri Police Department handled the case. Their log lists two offenses at the alleged location, Campus View Apartments, that night. One of the offenses, deviate sexual assault, is a class C felony in Missouri. The MU Athletic Department holds a policy that any athlete charged with a felony may not be reinstated until the matter is resolved.
However, Washington has not been arrested, nor charged, in the matter. MUPD Chief Jack Watring turned over their investigation to the Boone County Prosecutor's Office two months ago. Former Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Scholz initially stated he had no knowledge of a case involving Washington going through his office. Scholz, who left his job earlier this month, has since acknolwedged the case, but did not work on it with his imminent departure.
Current Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Hayes gave no indication on a timetable if, and when, charges would be filed, only confirming her connection to the matter. She
The bottom line is that Derrick Washington has not been arrested or charged in this situation. And since Athletic Director Mike Alden has steadly confirmed his knowledge of a situation involving Washington prior to the story breaking, why pick Thursday to suspend?
A report of a recent offer from the prosectutor's office to Washington may help explain. The Columbia Tribune reports that the prosecutor's office offered Washington the choice of pleading to a lesser charge, or go on trial for the felony charge. There is no reported response from Washington.
Until a few weeks ago, Pinkel and Alden had not received "credible information" regarding this situation. Whatever this information was set into motion Washington's suspension Thursday.
So what did they know about this situation beyond a few weeks ago?
The court proceedings showed this case to be a perculiar one to begin with. With neither party appearing, Pinkel and Alden, if they knew about this, showed their loyalty towards Washington by not acting. After all, no charges or arrests ammounted from the MUPD's investigation.
(Did I honestly just read this?)
However, the surfacing of this "credible information" gave Pinkel and Alden legitimate reason to place the team's wellbeing above individual loyalties to Washington
Exactly what that information is remains to be seen.
The timing of this matter resides solely in the hands of the prosecutor's office. The effects, however, can be controlled by the Tigers.
Last year's number two, junior De'Vion Moore, fell to number three during the preseason while battling a concussion and now a sprained ankle. Sophomore Kendial Lawrence will now be listed as number one on the depth chart, followed by Moore. Lawrence and Moore combined for 115 carries for 477 yards between them, with Moore scoring the duo's only touchdown against Iowa State. In Big 12 play, they combined to carry the rock 73 times.
The concern doesn't end with just the feature back. MU experimented with many two-back sets this preseason in an attempt to balance their pass-heavy offense. A trio of freshmen will contend for playing time in these multiple back sets. The loss of Washington forces the Tigers to use an inexperienced combination in these sets now, if they decide to move forward with them.
September 4th couldn't come soon enough.
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