The CFL and B.C. Lions have nullified Euclid Cummings’ contract after it came to light Wednesday that the defensive lineman was facing criminal charges in a Vancouver court for sexual assault and threats.

Provincial court documents show the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Atlanta native was charged last April with four criminal offences involving two alleged victims stemming from incidents in Vancouver on Oct. 16, 2016. His team at the time, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, played their regular-season finale at B.C. Place on Oct. 14, 2016.

Cummings is charged with sexual assault, assault and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to one person, and the sexual assault of another.

The 26-year-old played 16 games the following season with the Edmonton Eskimos — his eight sacks ranking third in the CFL, his three forced fumbles second-best in the league, along with 22 tackles — but news of the charges — filed on April 21, 2017 — only surfaced Wednesday. The league and Lions were both quick to react, voiding his contract as per provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, and scrubbing his presence from their websites.

The CFL released a statement Wednesday. “Upon learning of the criminal charges facing Euclid Cummings, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie has voided his contract with the B.C. Lions. As these charges are before the courts, the CFL will offer no further comment.”

Lions general manager Ed Hervey also released a statement, and declined further comment.

“We support the Commissioner’s decision to void the contract of Euclid Cummings in light of criminal charges he is currently facing. We were given no indication by the player or his representation that these charges existed and I assure our fans, partners and supporters of the CFL across Canada, that we would not have offered him a contract had we known about this situation. Given that matter is before the criminal courts and under a publication ban, we will not be offering further comment.”

The Canadian Press reported that Cummings had signed a $150,000 contract with the Leos, including a $70,000 bonus that B.C. can’t recoup and will be counted against their salary cap.

The signing of the Georgia Tech product, who began his career with the Toronto Argonauts in 2014 and played two seasons there before moving to Winnipeg in 2016, was a big boost to the defensive line.

“Euclid is a young, up-and-coming lineman who definitely has the ability and potential to be one of most dominant interior players in the league,” Hervey said when Cummings was signed in mid-February.

“He’s equally skilled at playing the run and getting to the quarterback and never takes a play off.”

The revelation of the charges is particularly awkward, considering the Lions’ commitment to the Be More Than A Bystander campaign. Several members of the team have toured schools around the province, addressing the violence against women and girls and raising awareness of the issue.

Cummings appears in B.C. Provincial Court in Vancouver for trial on Oct. 15, 2018.

jadams@postmedia.com

The felony assault case against suspended N.C. State basketball player Markell Johnson has been continued until Jan. 8, according to his attorney’s office.

Johnson and three other defendants were in court Thursday morning for a pretrial conference at the Cuyahoga (Ohio) County Justice Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The four are charged with assaulting Michael Blackwell, 37, in Cleveland on Oct. 8.

Johnson, Demarious Green, Michael Melton and Johnnie Pullum were indicted on Dec. 5. Each was jailed on Dec. 20, ordered to supply a DNA sample and released on $5,000 bond.

According to the Cleveland police report, Blackwell suffered a broken left orbital bone and a concussion. He posted a photo of himself, bloodied, on Facebook on Oct. 8.

When contacted Thursday in Cleveland, Blackwell declined to comment.

Johnson, 19, and his attorney have not responded to requests for comment.

Johnson, was N.C. State’s starting guard for the first 10 games this season and played Dec. 9 against Missouri-Kansas City in the game at Reynolds Coliseum. An NCSU spokesman said Thursday the school did not learn of the indictment until Dec. 14, announcing on Dec. 16 that Johnson had been suspended indefinitely for violating the school’s student-athlete code of conduct.

“We acted appropriately as soon as we found out about it,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said Thursday.

Johnson sat on the sideline, not in uniform, for the Wolfpack’s game against UNC Greensboro that day.

Keatts said he has had contact with Johnson but did not comment on what was said between the two.

According to the school’s code of conduct, a student-athlete charged with a felony crime will be immediately and indefinitely suspended from athletics participation, pending the final disposition of all charges.

In Ohio, a felonious assault is defined as “knowingly causing serious physical harm to another person” and is a second-degree felony unless the victim is a law-enforcement officer.

While Johnson was indicted in Cuyahoga County on Dec. 5 – and played for N.C. State four days later – the structure of the Ohio court system might have caused some of the confusion on Johnson’s end.

Cuyahoga County sent a certified letter to Johnson’s Cleveland address on Dec. 5 to notify Johnson of the charges and his court date. Johnson wasn’t in Ohio on Dec. 11, when the letter was signed for at the home address.

In the North Carolina court system, Johnson would have been arrested and taken before a magistrate to determine bond conditions on the same day. The felony charge would have triggered the automatic suspension under the athletic department’s rules.

The Wolfpack faces Clemson on Saturday in its ACC opener and plays Notre Dame (Jan. 3) and Duke (Jan. 6) before Johnson’s pretrial hearing.

Wolfpack junior Torin Dorn said the players are not aware of all the details of Johnson’s case.

“We don’t know a lot that’s going on, either,” Dorn said Thursday. “We’re just hoping for the best for him in his situation and praying for him. We hope his situation gets figured out and he’ll be back with us, hopefully.”