There’s been another storyline that’s dominated the West Virginia football program the past couple of days.

Early Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia football player Kerry Martin penned a lengthy statement that he posted on Twitter in which he alleged the mistreatment of himself and his teammates by WVU assistant Vic Koenning.  A short time later, the Mountaineers placed the defensive coordinator on administrative leave.

Tuesday night, West Virginia released a letter from head football coach Neal Brown.  In it, Brown describes himself as “sick about today’s events,” writing that he “first learned about Kerry’s stated concerns via Twitter.” That’s noteworthy because the safety claimed in his statement that he had meetings with Brown regarding Koenning’s alleged mistreatment.

Wednesday evening, Koenning issued a statement of apology via his Twitter account.

I respect Kerry Martin’s right to share that some of my words and actions impacted him. I care deeply for KJ and, when given the opportunity to speak directly, am optimistic we can find common ground. In the interim, I want to offer my sincere apology to both KJ and the entire WVU Family.

I never intended anything I said or did to offend or be insensitive. But KJ’s tweet reminded me that sometimes intent is not always clearly communicated. I’ve devoted the last 30 plus years of my life to serving young men through coaching. I’ve always tried to see things from the perspective of others. I’m not perfect – but I’m also not the person many on social media have painted me to be. I’m still learning every day and this is an opportunity for me to listen, learn and improve.

Over the past several days, some of our players have asked me why I haven’t spoken out publicly against racism and social injustice. Coach Brown and our administration addressed those important issues on behalf of our program and I fully supported their messages – then and now. At the time, I did not see the need to issue a separate statement. Again, I recognize that this only takes into account my perspective and not that of the players I am leading. Of course I stand against racism and social injustice of any kind. I hope my players know that already, but I proudly say it now. There is no place for that any time, anywhere or any place.

I look forward to fully cooperating with WVU’s independent investigation by sharing what is in my heart and getting to the truth. I will have no further comment out of respect for that process. We will get through this together and be stronger as a team for it.

In announcing Koenning had been placed on administrative leave, athletic director Shane Lyons stated that “the department will work with the appropriate parties to conduct a thorough investigation into these allegations.” Brown subsequently confirmed that an independent investigation had been launched.

Koenning has been with Brown the past five seasons.  Four of those were spent at Troy along with the 2019 season at WVU.

Rutgers basketball player Jacob Young reached a plea deal Monday in his driving while intoxicated case, according to his attorney.

Young was arrested in the early-morning hours Feb. 2 in New Brunswick by Rutgers University police and charged with DWI, reckless driving, failing to signal, disregarding a stop sign and careless driving, according to a RUPD incident report.

Appearing in New Brunswick Municipal Court via a video-conference call Monday, Young’s DWI charge was dropped and he agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving. Young had his New Jersey license privileges suspended for 60 days and agreed to pay a fine of $240.

“Jacob’s accepting his responsibility,’’ James Curran, Young’s Milltown-based attorney, said. “He’s remorseful. He’s a really nice kid and he made a mistake.’’

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A rising senior guard from Houston who was 22-years old at the time of his arrest, Young was suspended for one game for a violation of team rules by Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell after the incident.

Both Young and Pikiell on Monday declined to comment through a Rutgers spokesperson, who said, “The team considers the matter resolved.’’

In February, Pikiell said he was “disappointed’’ upon hearing the news of Young’s arrest.

“When you deal with young adults, they’re capable of making bad decisions. He obviously did,” Pikiell said. “I’m disappointed. I love him. But you’ve got to make great decisions, and young adults sometimes don’t. We’ll move forward, it will be a good learning experience for us and then we’ll move on.”

A key bench player for a Rutgers team that went 20-11 before its season was cut short prior to the Big Ten Tournament because of the coronavirus shutdown, Young averaged 8.5 points per game while 41.3 percent from the field in 30 games as a junior.

Young, who has one season of eligibility remaining after transferring in from the University of Texas two years ago, earned a spot on the Dean’s List after posting a 3.73 grade-point-average this spring, according to a Rutgers spokesperson.

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.

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Two Ohio State defensive backs charged Tuesday with rape and kidnapping were dismissed from the football team by head coach Ryan Day on Wednesday.

Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint are in Franklin County jail facing charges of rape and kidnapping. They will be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday.

Both players were suspended from the football team Tuesday and dismissed Wednesday.

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“I have dismissed Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint from our football program,” Day said in a statement. “I am not making any statement on the criminal charges, but it is clear they did not live up to our standards and my expectations. The athletics department will make sure they both continue to have access to the health and well-being resources available to students and student-athletes. Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, I will not be commenting further.”

Columbus attorney Sam Shamansky, who has been retained by Wint, said in an email that his client is “100% wrongfully accused.”

“Mr. Wint has fully cooperated with every request that has been made of him by Columbus police, and upon learning he was charged, immediately turned himself in at the Franklin County jail,” Shamansky said. “He is willing to continue cooperating with police, including taking a polygraph.”

Attorney Karl Schneider, who is representing Amir, said in an emailed statement that, “These are serious and troubling charges for all concerned, but Amir maintains his innocence and will confront these proceedings and difficult times over the coming months and weeks.”

Amir voluntarily surrendered to authorities late Tuesday night. “There is much to be investigated, but I am confident that Amir will be exonerated,” Schneider said.

According to Columbus police, Riep was hanging out with the victim on Feb. 4 in an apartment that he and Wint share on the Northwest Side. Riep and the woman began to engage in consensual sex, but the woman stopped, moved away and told Riep she didn’t want to continue.

Wint then entered the room and asked if he could join. An affidavit filed by police accused Wint of grabbing the woman by the neck, forcing her on her hands and knees and raping her. Riep then held her in place by the hips and with his body, while Wint forced her to perform oral sex, police said. The woman pushed Wint away, but he forced her again to have oral sex, the affidavit states.

Riep told the woman that she needed to say it was consensual in a video recording.

Riep then recorded her asking if he wanted her face on the video, since she was crying. “And he told her ‘no, just say it was consensual’ on video recording while laughing at her,” the affidavit said.

After telling her she needed to take a shower, Riep then drove the woman home. The woman reported the incident to police less than three hours after it occurred, police said.

Danny Landberg, Wint’s coach at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, declined to comment when reached by The Dispatch.

“I’m not getting involved in this,” he said.

Riep attended Colerain High School in Cincinnati. Colerain coach Shawn Cutright also declined to comment when reached by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

From the time Ohio State football players arrive on campus, they are warned that mistreating women is a violation of the program’s core values.

It’s written in large letters on the wall of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: TREAT WOMEN WITH RESPECT. That was one of former head coach Urban Meyer’s primary tenets regarding off-the-field behavior, and it remains so under Day.

In June, Ohio State dismissed running back Brian Snead from the school following an investigation prompted by an anonymous tip that he had committed a sexual assault in a campus dormitory. Charges were never filed against Snead. The woman declined to press charges or talk to the police.

For Day, the Riep-Wint case represents the first high-profile off-field issue involving a Buckeye player since he was hired a year ago. Star defensive end Chase Young was suspended for two games in the fall, but that was for an NCAA issue — taking an improper loan — not a legal one.

Riep and Wint were junior backup defensive backs on Ohio State’s 2019 team. Riep had two interceptions last season. With Shaun Wade the only returning starter in the secondary, both Riep and Wint were expected to be in the mix for starting jobs in 2020.

According to the Buckeyes’ website, Riep is majoring in sport industry and has played in 26 games and recorded 13 tackles. He was a 4-star prospect coming out of high school.

Wint is majoring in human development and family science. He is in his fourth season with the program, though he redshirted the 2016 season and is a junior in eligibility, according to the website. Coming out of high school, he was a 4-star prospect and rated as the No. 1 athlete in New York state by ESPN and the No. 1 safety prospect by Scout.

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A Tulane basketball player charged with third-degree rape has been dismissed from the team, according to a nola.com report. 

Bul Ajang was accused of raping a woman with whom he had been drinking and dancing at a bar Sunday, according to police. He has been released from jail on a $10,000 bond.

The alleged victim said she remembered waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom where Ajang then tried to force her to have sex with him. When the woman told him she wanted to leave, Ajang allegedly hit her on the head and continued forcing her into sex.

According to police, Ajang then accompanied her to her home using a ride-share service. When she arrived at home, the alleged victim called 911 to report the rape before undergoing a sexual assault examination at University Medical Center.  

Police interviewed Ajang at Tulane Medical Center, where he was receiving treatment for injuries he said he sustained from being attacked by the woman’s live-in boyfriend when Ajang dropped her off at their home. 

According to Ajang’s version of the night’s events, he and the alleged victim went to the bar alone after they attended a party with Ajang’s roommate. Police said Ajang reported that both he and the woman were heavily intoxicated when they went to his home and began having consensual sex. 

When the woman told him she wanted to go home, Ajang said he called the ride-share service and rode with her. When he dropped her off at her home, Ajang said the woman’s boyfriend attacked him.

Ajang, a 6-foot-10-inch forward recruited to Tulane from South Sudan, played sparingly over the past two years for former coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. He averaged just under 10 minutes a game in 34 appearances over two seasons, battling knee problems last year.

As nola.com reports, Tulane head basketball coach Ron Hunter said in August that Ajang had undergone career-ending knee surgery and was applying for a medical hardship from the NCAA but would remain on scholarship.

In late September, a Papillion resident posted a diamond ring for sale on an online site, Papillion Police Chief Deputy Chris Whitted said at the time.

A University of Kentucky football player who was dismissed from the program last month had more than $95,000 in cash and 52 grams of cocaine inside his apartment at the time of his arrest, according to court records.

Marcus Walker, a 21-year-old junior safety, was arrested May 24 and was dismissed from the team five days later. He pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking marijuana and cocaine.

His roommate, Tavon Wells, 23, was also charged with the same crimes.

A search of their apartment following their arrests led police to $70,312 in a bag by a closet and another $25,000 in a top-floor bedroom. Walker also had $430 in his pockets. Police said all of the cash belonged to Walker.

More than 52 grams of cocaine was found by police in a clear plastic baggie in a kitchen cabinet, according to court records. It’s unknown to whom the cocaine belonged.

Marijuana was also found in several places — in a water heater closet, backpack, kitchen counter and under a bed. The total amount was 5 pounds. Some of the marijuana belonged to Walker, court records show.

His arrest citation initially said he was trafficking in about 5 pounds of marijuana and 4 grams of cocaine. But new search warrant documents revealed more details about the drugs and cash found in the townhouse as well as the fight that led to their discovery.

An AR-15 rifle belonging to Wells was found inside the residence. Police said they also found digital scales, packaging material, a food processor and a money counter during the search, according to court records.

Police were dispatched to the Unity Drive townhome just after 11 p.m. on May 23 in response to a report of a disorder, according to court records. The disorder involved a male and a female and dispatchers could hear the female yelling at the male and saying she had been hit by him, police said. Police who arrived on the scene observed broken glass lying outside of the unit.

Walker answered the door and said Wells and his girlfriend were in an argument and had just left the home, according to court records. Walker said the girlfriend, Justice Keishae Young, broke the window. Police received consent from Walker to enter the home to ensure no one needed medical assistance, the records said.

“Inside the door, the living room was in a state of disarray with all the furniture and television strew across the floor along with marijuana, cash and blood,” police said, according to court records.

Police said they did not find any victims during their search but continued to find drugs, including three clear bags “approximately the size of a soccer ball full of marijuana.”

Walker was arrested outside of his residence, where more marijuana was found lying on the ground. Wells was arrested later.

A day after his arrest, Walker was released from the Fayette County Jail on a $1,000 surety bond.

Wells has previously been arrested on marijuana trafficking charges and probation violations. It was Walker’s first arrest.

Walker was competing for playing time this season in a crowded secondary that returns starters and backups at nearly every position. He played in 21 games during his UK career with 17 tackles, and saw action in 12 of Kentucky’s 13 games last year, mostly on special teams.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A defensive lineman for the University of Memphis football team has been dismissed from the team and placed on interim suspension from campus after he was charged with drug possession Thursday.

Jared Gentry faces a charge of possession with intent to sell. Memphis Police say they searched his room in student housing at the university and found two wrapped bags of marijuana weighing nearly 30 grams, in addition to clear baggies and scales.

He was dismissed from the football team for violating team rules and suspended for violating U of M student code. The matter is being reviewed by the Office of Student Accountability, Outreach and Support.

Gentry missed most of last season with an injury.