Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s claims that race is behind attacks from his opponents is falling flat with one of those opponents.

Al Pollock, like Tony, grew up as a black male in a heavily policed neighborhood, near Liberty City in Miami, that had its share of drugs and violence.

The big difference, Pollock says: he did not lie on his application to launch his police career.

Just a few days after taking office in 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Sheriff Scott Israel and installed Tony without doing a complete thorough background check, having failed to uncover Tony was arrested and charged with murder when he was 14. He was found not guilty after claiming self defense, but did not disclose the case when asked if he’d ever been arrested, charged or even detained as a suspect — which he clearly was.

DeSantis also did not investigate Tony’s prior attempts to be hired as a cop. Had he done so, he would have learned Tony denied using hallucinogens on his Coral Springs police application, after being rejected by Tallahassee police because he admitted a felony drug history of using LSD when he was 16.

“This is a gift that was given to this guy,” Pollock said of the governor’s appointment. “This guy didn’t earn anything.”

Pollock, Tony, Israel and others face off in the Aug. 18 Democratic primary, which usually produces the ultimate winner in Democrat-heavy Broward County.

Pollock, who retired as a BSO commander after 40 years with the agency, said lying on a police application is a fireable offense — and that Tony’s race has nothing to do with it.

Walking the streets outside his childhood home, Pollock recalled, “there was drugs, there was murders. I had two murders on this street I grew up on. But I did not become part of the problem, we became part of solution.”

Tony would argue he is part of the solution, too, having emerged from the Badlands of North Philadelphia and graduated from Florida State University, before being hired as a cop in Coral Springs — albeit after omitting his arrest and drug use histories from the application.

Tony has complained those revelations, in the Florida Bulldog and South Florida Sun-Sentinel, were the work of opponents painting an unfair, racially tinged caricature of the person he really is.

“My political opposition is out there and what they are using this to do is to say that a 14-year-old black kid doesn’t have a chance in this country. Even when they did nothing wrong,” Tony said.

“Fourteen-year-old black kids do have a chance in this country,” Pollock countered. “All we got to do is … tell the truth. There are 5,000 men and women employed at the Broward Sheriffs Office today who told the truth. If they lie, Tony will have terminated them.”

“For him to sit back and talk about race? That’s a non-factor. It’s about experience and knowledge,” Pollock said, adding it also about character.

Pollock claims Tony not only lied to get his one and only police job — before DeSantis appointed him sheriff — but also “broke the law because of untruthfulness.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has launched a preliminary investigation into whether Tony committed a crime when he swore in an affidavit that he had never had a crimnal record sealed or expunged.

Tony claims he has no criminal record because he was found not guilty. But police agencies are given legal access to sealed, expunged and juvenile records when vetting people applying to be police officers.

Tony said his opponents “want to use this as a political tool to outline me as black kid in the inner city with a gun.”

“That’s an insult,” said Pollock. “Nobody puts a gun in your hand. Nobody puts drugs in your hands. You choose to put that in your own hands.”

Pollock, 66, does have one incident of discipline in his BSO file.

He was suspended for 15 days in 2010 for helping a Miami Dolphins player accused of domestic violence leave the jail undetected, then taking him in his police vehicle to the Dolphins training facility and to the player’s house, after making sure the victim was not present.

“We all make mistakes in life, but I didn’t lie about it. I did not lie,” Pollock said when asked about the incident. “I was disciplined, moved on with my life and i was promoted afterwards.”

He also was found by a federal jury to have falsely arrested a woman, leading to a $60,000 judgment against the sheriff’s office, that was later settled. The jury also found Pollock did not act with malice or in bad faith.

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

___

A judge has upheld the Dutch soccer association’s decision to scrap relegation and promotion from or to the top-flight Eredivisie as it cut short the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The top two clubs in the second-tier Keuken Kampioen Division, Cambuur Leeuwarden and De Graafschap Doetinchem, launched a legal challenge to the April 24 decision, seeking to seal promotion in court.

In a ruling streamed live Thursday, Judge Hans Zuurmond rejected their arguments, saying the Dutch association, the KNVB, has the power to make such a decision.

Zuurmond says because of the coronavirus, the KNVB “had to take a decision with its back to the wall. Doing nothing was not an option.”

According to the ruling, the KNVB had to act in the interest of all clubs. Zuurmond says it is “very bitter for Cambuur and De Graafschap, but that is not enough to overturn the decision.”

The decision marked the first time a court has ruled in a legal challenge to a one of the major European leagues’ coronavirus stoppages.

The Netherlands on April 24 became the first top-tier European league to cancel the remainder of the season. But clubs that felt disadvantaged by the terms immediately announced plans to launch legal battles.

___

The British government says it is helping the Premier League resume in June but it wants the finances to flow throughout English soccer and more fans to be able to watch games on television.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden held talks on Thursday with soccer authorities as the national coronavirus lockdown starts to be eased. The pandemic will continue to prevent any fans from attending matches if sports events do restart in June after being suspended in March.

Dowden says “the government is opening the door for competitive football to return safely in June. This should include widening access for fans to view live coverage and ensure finances from the game’s resumption supports the wider football family.”

In a statement, Dowden says soccer authorities need to finalize their plans before government approval will be given for leagues to start up again.

Players are still having to maintain social distancing in training, but contact is expected to be allowed if there is no new spike in COVID-19 cases nationally.

___

IndyCar officials have announced NBC will air a four-hour program on May 24, the original date of this year’s Indianapolis 500, that will look back at last year’s race.

Mike Tirico will interview race winner Simon Pagenaud and runner-up Alexander Rossi during the broadcast.

This year’s Indy 500 has been rescheduled for Aug. 23.

“While this Memorial Day weekend will certainly be different, we’re pleased to join our partners at NBC Sports in continuing this tradition through this special TV presentation,” Penske Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “We look forward to recognizing both our military and frontline COVID-19 heroes while providing motorsports fans some intense and behind-the-scenes IndyCar action through the race replay.”

Pre-race coverage will include honoring frontline workers during the pandemic as well as the military traditions associated with the 500. The program also will preview this year’s season opener, which is scheduled for June 6 at Texas.

___

The Baltimore Ravens intend to compensate stadium workers if NFL games are played before a limited numbers of fans — or no one at all — due to social distancing requirements during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ravens president Dick Cass says the team is working on a program to provide for the estimated 3,300 people employed a typical game day.

“If we don’t have that kind of staff because we have a reduced crowd at the stadium, we are planning on creating an employees’ assistance fund,” Cass said, noting that “we have not terminated or laid off or furloughed anybody and we don’t intend to.”

Instead of watching from the sideline at a minicamp practice, Cass was in his home Thursday morning, speaking in a teleconference arranged by The United Way. He noted that in a normal year on this date, there would be 90 players having breakfast at the team headquarters.

Cass said the team sill plans to open training camp and start the season on time, but it “may have to make adjustments.”

___

The IOC says it is setting aside $800 million for loans and payments arising from the pandemic that forced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says $150 million will be available for loans to sports governing bodies and national Olympic committees. They were due payments this year for the Tokyo Games, which are now scheduled to open in July 2021.

IOC chief operating officer Lana Haddad says a breakdown of how the $650 million could be allocated will be formulated in the months ahead. It was unclear how much of the money would go to Tokyo organizers.

The Swiss government announced Wednesday that Olympic sports federations based in the country can apply for federal loans. The IOC will put up half the money for those loans, with federal and state authorities providing 25% each.

___

The Southeastern Conference has formed a task force to advise the league and member schools on decisions about resuming sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force represents the league’s 14 universities.

The group of medical professionals began meeting by video conference in April, the SEC said Thursday. They provide regular updates to SEC presidents, chancellors and athletic directors.

Conference members will have to approve any policy changes related to a return to practices, workouts, meetings and competition.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the task force “has begun to provide the guidance necessary to make decisions related to the return to athletics activities for SEC student-athletes and to assist in our collaboration with colleague conferences in determining a safe return to athletics competition.”

___

Orlando became the latest NBA team to reopen its practice facility since the coronavirus shutdown, with Nikola Vucevic among the first Magic players to arrive back for voluntary workouts Thursday.

The Magic released video of Vucevic working with assistant coach Lionel Chalmers, who was in a mask and gloves for the session. The NBA requires anyone who is present for the workouts, except for the player while he is working out, to be wearing personal protective equipment.

“It felt good to be back here and get some work in,” Vucevic said afterward in a message distributed by the team. “But I still want you guys to stay safe, be smart, listen to the experts. It’s still a dangerous time for everybody. But be safe, listen to the experts and I’ll see you soon.”

Vucevic was averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds per game for the Magic when the NBA season was suspended March 11.

___

The PGA Tour Champions, which already has canceled eight tournaments because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has decided to combine 2020 and 2021 into one season.

Tour president Miller Brady says combining two seasons into one is the best solution.

The 50-and-older circuit is scheduled to resume with the Ally Challenge in Michigan on July 31. That would be the first of 13 events remaining this year, barring any delays. The PGA Tour Champions already has lost two majors, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship, and is waiting to hear the fate of the Senior British Open.

Because of the combined seasons, the postseason events will have 81-player fields and a Charles Schwab Cup champion will not be decided until 2021.

The tour will announce the 2021 schedule later this year.

___

Spanish second-division club Elche says its players have agreed to return to training after it reinstated their full-time work contracts.

Club CEO Patricia Rodríguez told Spanish news agency EFE Thursday that after negotiating with the squad, the club had agreed to end the work furlough it had been on for two months since the coronavirus pandemic put all league activity on hold.

The players did not return to practice on Wednesday as a protest against salary reductions of 70% imposed under the furlough. Many Spanish clubs have put their players on furlough.

Spanish clubs have returned to training individually at club facilities as they wait for the league to resume play, possibly this summer.

___

The Southern Conference will cut back on schools qualifying for several championships, cut its league baseball series from three games to two and hold virtual media days for football and basketball.

Those are among several cost-cutting moves announced by the conference because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Division I conference will reduce qualifiers to four for men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, softball and baseball.

Conference commissioner Jim Schaus said league presidents had approved a cost-savings plan for the 2020-21 academic year. Schaus said staff at the conference office will have reduced travel going forward and their salaries will be frozen.

___

Akron is dropping men’s golf and cross country and women’s tennis in cost-cutting moves due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school said the reduction will take effect at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Akron will now have seven men’s sports and 10 women’s sports. The school will remain a member of the Mid-American Conference, which announced changes to several conference championships earlier this week.

“These decisions are very difficult but they are important and necessary at this time,” athletic director Larry Williams said. “This action aligns us with our Mid-American Conference peers in the total number of sports and is part of the ongoing effort to redesign the University to ensure that UA continues to invest in high-demand, high-quality academic programs.”

In a news release, the school said it considered factors including program cost, facilities, community impact and future funding.

___

Atlanta United players Anton Walkes and Fernando Meza say they’re open to the idea of resuming Major League Soccer with all teams playing in the Orlando, Florida, area.

But Walkes said there are a number of issues that must be addressed before such a plan could be approved.

“The safety of everyone is first and foremost,” he said on a video conference call with Atlanta media.

Details of the plan are still under consideration, but the league’s 26 teams and limited staff would likely be sheltered in a resort with games played without fans at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. The league suspended play on March 12 after teams had played just two games.

Meza said “the logistics of it will be challenging.”

Walkes said he’s also concerned about the mental aspect of players being asked to essentially quarantine in one location — especially if it means being without families and friends for potentially several months.

Teams could head to Florida as early as June 1 for training camps. After such a long layoff, Walkes indicated it would likely take at least a month to get in proper playing shape to start up again.

___

The Austrian soccer league says it is investigating first-place club LASK Linz for breaking rules on training during the coronavirus pandemic.

Clubs in Austria are only supposed to hold training for small groups of players under social distancing regulations before full training begins Friday.

But the league says it was sent multiple videos showing “a regular team training session” which supposedly took place “recently.” LASK has been charged with a violation of fair-play principles. The team could be fined or have points deducted.

Salzburg commercial director Stephan Reiter says the second-place club is “shocked and stunned” at LASK’s conduct.

Soccer is scheduled to resume in the country with the Austrian Cup final on May 29 before the league starts up again next month.

___

Ireland has postponed its limited-overs cricket matches against New Zealand and Pakistan in June and July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand Cricket informed Cricket Ireland this week it couldn’t travel and the latter has confirmed putting off the matches in Northern Ireland. The teams were to meet for three Twenty20s in Bready and three one-day internationals in Belfast from June 19 to July 2.

Restrictions on travel and professional sports also forced Cricket Ireland to postpone hosting Pakistan in two T20s on July 12 and 14.

The Netherlands legs of both tours by New Zealand and Pakistan had already been curtailed last month after the Dutch government banned all big sports events until Sept. 1.

Pakistan is still scheduled to tour England for three tests and three T20s from July 30 to Sept. 2.

Cricket Ireland says it is talking with England officials about possibly rescheduling their three ODIs in September in England.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

___

A judge has upheld the Dutch soccer association’s decision to scrap relegation and promotion from or to the top-flight Eredivisie as it cut short the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The top two clubs in the second-tier Keuken Kampioen Division, Cambuur Leeuwarden and De Graafschap Doetinchem, launched a legal challenge to the April 24 decision, seeking to seal promotion in court.

In a ruling streamed live Thursday, Judge Hans Zuurmond rejected their arguments, saying the Dutch association, the KNVB, has the power to make such a decision.

Zuurmond says because of the coronavirus, the KNVB “had to take a decision with its back to the wall. Doing nothing was not an option.”

According to the ruling, the KNVB had to act in the interest of all clubs. Zuurmond says it is “very bitter for Cambuur and De Graafschap, but that is not enough to overturn the decision.”

The decision marked the first time a court has ruled in a legal challenge to a one of the major European leagues’ coronavirus stoppages.

The Netherlands on April 24 became the first top-tier European league to cancel the remainder of the season. But clubs that felt disadvantaged by the terms immediately announced plans to launch legal battles.

___

The British government says it is helping the Premier League resume in June but it wants the finances to flow throughout English soccer and more fans to be able to watch games on television.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden held talks on Thursday with soccer authorities as the national coronavirus lockdown starts to be eased. The pandemic will continue to prevent any fans from attending matches if sports events do restart in June after being suspended in March.

Dowden says “the government is opening the door for competitive football to return safely in June. This should include widening access for fans to view live coverage and ensure finances from the game’s resumption supports the wider football family.”

In a statement, Dowden says soccer authorities need to finalize their plans before government approval will be given for leagues to start up again.

Players are still having to maintain social distancing in training, but contact is expected to be allowed if there is no new spike in COVID-19 cases nationally.

___

IndyCar officials have announced NBC will air a four-hour program on May 24, the original date of this year’s Indianapolis 500, that will look back at last year’s race.

Mike Tirico will interview race winner Simon Pagenaud and runner-up Alexander Rossi during the broadcast.

This year’s Indy 500 has been rescheduled for Aug. 23.

“While this Memorial Day weekend will certainly be different, we’re pleased to join our partners at NBC Sports in continuing this tradition through this special TV presentation,” Penske Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “We look forward to recognizing both our military and frontline COVID-19 heroes while providing motorsports fans some intense and behind-the-scenes IndyCar action through the race replay.”

Pre-race coverage will include honoring frontline workers during the pandemic as well as the military traditions associated with the 500. The program also will preview this year’s season opener, which is scheduled for June 6 at Texas.

___

The Baltimore Ravens intend to compensate stadium workers if NFL games are played before a limited numbers of fans — or no one at all — due to social distancing requirements during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ravens president Dick Cass says the team is working on a program to provide for the estimated 3,300 people employed a typical game day.

“If we don’t have that kind of staff because we have a reduced crowd at the stadium, we are planning on creating an employees’ assistance fund,” Cass said, noting that “we have not terminated or laid off or furloughed anybody and we don’t intend to.”

Instead of watching from the sideline at a minicamp practice, Cass was in his home Thursday morning, speaking in a teleconference arranged by The United Way. He noted that in a normal year on this date, there would be 90 players having breakfast at the team headquarters.

Cass said the team sill plans to open training camp and start the season on time, but it “may have to make adjustments.”

___

The IOC says it is setting aside $800 million for loans and payments arising from the pandemic that forced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be postponed.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach says $150 million will be available for loans to sports governing bodies and national Olympic committees. They were due payments this year for the Tokyo Games, which are now scheduled to open in July 2021.

IOC chief operating officer Lana Haddad says a breakdown of how the $650 million could be allocated will be formulated in the months ahead. It was unclear how much of the money would go to Tokyo organizers.

The Swiss government announced Wednesday that Olympic sports federations based in the country can apply for federal loans. The IOC will put up half the money for those loans, with federal and state authorities providing 25% each.

___

The Southeastern Conference has formed a task force to advise the league and member schools on decisions about resuming sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force represents the league’s 14 universities.

The group of medical professionals began meeting by video conference in April, the SEC said Thursday. They provide regular updates to SEC presidents, chancellors and athletic directors.

Conference members will have to approve any policy changes related to a return to practices, workouts, meetings and competition.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the task force “has begun to provide the guidance necessary to make decisions related to the return to athletics activities for SEC student-athletes and to assist in our collaboration with colleague conferences in determining a safe return to athletics competition.”

___

Orlando became the latest NBA team to reopen its practice facility since the coronavirus shutdown, with Nikola Vucevic among the first Magic players to arrive back for voluntary workouts Thursday.

The Magic released video of Vucevic working with assistant coach Lionel Chalmers, who was in a mask and gloves for the session. The NBA requires anyone who is present for the workouts, except for the player while he is working out, to be wearing personal protective equipment.

“It felt good to be back here and get some work in,” Vucevic said afterward in a message distributed by the team. “But I still want you guys to stay safe, be smart, listen to the experts. It’s still a dangerous time for everybody. But be safe, listen to the experts and I’ll see you soon.”

Vucevic was averaging 19.5 points and 11 rebounds per game for the Magic when the NBA season was suspended March 11.

___

The PGA Tour Champions, which already has canceled eight tournaments because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has decided to combine 2020 and 2021 into one season.

Tour president Miller Brady says combining two seasons into one is the best solution.

The 50-and-older circuit is scheduled to resume with the Ally Challenge in Michigan on July 31. That would be the first of 13 events remaining this year, barring any delays. The PGA Tour Champions already has lost two majors, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship, and is waiting to hear the fate of the Senior British Open.

Because of the combined seasons, the postseason events will have 81-player fields and a Charles Schwab Cup champion will not be decided until 2021.

The tour will announce the 2021 schedule later this year.

___

Spanish second-division club Elche says its players have agreed to return to training after it reinstated their full-time work contracts.

Club CEO Patricia Rodríguez told Spanish news agency EFE Thursday that after negotiating with the squad, the club had agreed to end the work furlough it had been on for two months since the coronavirus pandemic put all league activity on hold.

The players did not return to practice on Wednesday as a protest against salary reductions of 70% imposed under the furlough. Many Spanish clubs have put their players on furlough.

Spanish clubs have returned to training individually at club facilities as they wait for the league to resume play, possibly this summer.

___

The Southern Conference will cut back on schools qualifying for several championships, cut its league baseball series from three games to two and hold virtual media days for football and basketball.

Those are among several cost-cutting moves announced by the conference because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Division I conference will reduce qualifiers to four for men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, softball and baseball.

Conference commissioner Jim Schaus said league presidents had approved a cost-savings plan for the 2020-21 academic year. Schaus said staff at the conference office will have reduced travel going forward and their salaries will be frozen.

___

Akron is dropping men’s golf and cross country and women’s tennis in cost-cutting moves due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school said the reduction will take effect at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Akron will now have seven men’s sports and 10 women’s sports. The school will remain a member of the Mid-American Conference, which announced changes to several conference championships earlier this week.

“These decisions are very difficult but they are important and necessary at this time,” athletic director Larry Williams said. “This action aligns us with our Mid-American Conference peers in the total number of sports and is part of the ongoing effort to redesign the University to ensure that UA continues to invest in high-demand, high-quality academic programs.”

In a news release, the school said it considered factors including program cost, facilities, community impact and future funding.

___

Atlanta United players Anton Walkes and Fernando Meza say they’re open to the idea of resuming Major League Soccer with all teams playing in the Orlando, Florida, area.

But Walkes said there are a number of issues that must be addressed before such a plan could be approved.

“The safety of everyone is first and foremost,” he said on a video conference call with Atlanta media.

Details of the plan are still under consideration, but the league’s 26 teams and limited staff would likely be sheltered in a resort with games played without fans at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. The league suspended play on March 12 after teams had played just two games.

Meza said “the logistics of it will be challenging.”

Walkes said he’s also concerned about the mental aspect of players being asked to essentially quarantine in one location — especially if it means being without families and friends for potentially several months.

Teams could head to Florida as early as June 1 for training camps. After such a long layoff, Walkes indicated it would likely take at least a month to get in proper playing shape to start up again.

___

The Austrian soccer league says it is investigating first-place club LASK Linz for breaking rules on training during the coronavirus pandemic.

Clubs in Austria are only supposed to hold training for small groups of players under social distancing regulations before full training begins Friday.

But the league says it was sent multiple videos showing “a regular team training session” which supposedly took place “recently.” LASK has been charged with a violation of fair-play principles. The team could be fined or have points deducted.

Salzburg commercial director Stephan Reiter says the second-place club is “shocked and stunned” at LASK’s conduct.

Soccer is scheduled to resume in the country with the Austrian Cup final on May 29 before the league starts up again next month.

___

Ireland has postponed its limited-overs cricket matches against New Zealand and Pakistan in June and July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

New Zealand Cricket informed Cricket Ireland this week it couldn’t travel and the latter has confirmed putting off the matches in Northern Ireland. The teams were to meet for three Twenty20s in Bready and three one-day internationals in Belfast from June 19 to July 2.

Restrictions on travel and professional sports also forced Cricket Ireland to postpone hosting Pakistan in two T20s on July 12 and 14.

The Netherlands legs of both tours by New Zealand and Pakistan had already been curtailed last month after the Dutch government banned all big sports events until Sept. 1.

Pakistan is still scheduled to tour England for three tests and three T20s from July 30 to Sept. 2.

Cricket Ireland says it is talking with England officials about possibly rescheduling their three ODIs in September in England.

FLORESVILLE — A former La Vernia High School football player, accused in a hazing scandal that led to multiple arrests in 2017, will stand trial after rejecting plea bargains offered Monday by prosecutors with the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

About a dozen other accused athletes, both juveniles and adults, have accepted plea deals, bringing resolution to all but one of the criminal cases that roiled the small Wilson County town.

Alejandro Ibarra, now 20, rejected two offers from Assistant Attorney General Sharon Pruitt. Visiting Judge Donna Rayes scheduled Ibarra’s trial for July 13 and lawyers anticipate it will last four days.

Defense lawyer Adrian Perez requested one more chance for his client to accept a plea deal closer to trial, but a visibly frustrated Pruitt said all offers would expire Monday, adding, “Today’s our day.”

Ibarra was among 13 students arrested or detained in the case, which the La Vernia police chief at the time said involved athletes in the high school’s football, baseball and basketball programs. They were variously accused of using objects to violently sodomize at least 10 newer varsity teammates in so-called initiations.

Local officials at the time said the practice might have started in the 2014-15 school year. A federal lawsuit against the school district brought by families of the victims is expected to go to trial in February.

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A grand jury indicted four men who were adults at the time of the incidents: Ibarra, Dustin Norman, Colton Weidner, and Christian “Brock” Roberts, on second-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. Each could have faced as many as 20 years in prison.

Norman, 21, Weidner, 20, and Roberts, 20, pleaded no contest to lesser charges of unlawful restraint, a state jail felony, avoiding prison time under agreements with prosecutors. Weidner and Roberts last month were ordered to serve five years of deferred adjudication probation, while Norman on Monday was given three years deferred adjudication. The three can avoid convictions on their records if they successfully complete the terms, and can ask for early release after completing community service hours and paying fines and court fees.

Two other adults and several juveniles who were charged also avoided jail time. In October, Robert Olivarez Jr., 20, pleaded no contest to unlawful restraint and drew five years of deferred adjudication. On Monday, John Rutkowski, 20, was allowed to plead no contest to hazing, a class B misdemeanor, in exchange for one year’s deferred adjudication.

Weidner’s lawyer, Stephen Barrera of Floresville, said the sentences were appropriate.

“A lot of guys that were accused are also victims” of previous hazing, he said.

Pruitt told the court that Ibarra was offered three years of deferred adjudication probation and a shot at early release if he would plead to the state jail felony of unlawful restraint. When he declined, the prosecutor offered 30 days in the county jail and a plea on a misdemeanor level of unlawful restraint, but Ibarra again rejected it.

Ibarra requested one year of probation for the misdemeanor charge, but Pruitt would not offer less than two years with the misdemeanor, Perez said.

He could not say why his client wouldn’t take the offers, and added, “Frankly, I might not even know.”

On ExpressNews.com: La Vernia football player arrested in sexual assault scandal defends accused ‘brothers’ on Facebook

Ibarra was quick to defend himself on social media after his arrest. He commented on Facebook posts saying he, Norman and Olivarez were innocent.

“They didn’t do anything. … I was with them every day and we were never involved in this stupid s—t!” Ibarra wrote on the Facebook page of a local reporter for San Antonio’s Telemundo affiliate.

Ibarra’s arrest warrant affidavit stated that he, Norman, Olivarez and another suspect held down a 16-year-old teammate and sexually assaulted him with the threaded end of a carbon dioxide tank

After the hearing, Perez apologized to the prosecutor for the back-and-forth negotiations over two hearings beginning in November.

“That’s OK. I have strong witnesses,” Pruitt responded.

Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva