In May 2013, Boise State announced that Ukwuachu was dismissed from the team for violating unspecified rules. He was accused of being abusive to his girlfriend but officially was kicked off the team for an undisclosed team rules violation.
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Additionally, a report published Thursday by Texas Monthly alleges that Baylor did a limited investigation before clearing Ukwuachu to return to school, adding another element to the saga.
But in a statement to ESPN, Petersen said he made the first contact and fully briefed Briles.
Ukwuachu denied those allegations, and Baylor Coach Art Briles on Friday denied having any knowledge about his supposedly violent past in an interview with ESPN.com.
“No mention of anything beyond Sam being depressed and needing to come home”, Briles said, per Olson.
Neither Briles nor Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw could be reached immediately to respond to Petersen’s comments later Friday. “In that conversation, I thoroughly apprised Coach Briles of the circumstances surrounding Sam’s disciplinary record and dismissal, “according to CNN”. Ukwauchu was finally indicted in late June of 2014, 8 months after the incident.
The judge in the case deemed the school’s investigation so insufficient that the defense was barred from citing it during the trial, according to Texas Monthly and other local media.
The question becomes what Baylor knew about Ukwuachu’s troubles at Boise State and whether Baylor should have accepted him on campus.
Ukwuachu would have had two years of eligibility remaining had he played for Baylor.
Following the 2012 season, Ukwuachu (named a Freshman All-American that year) was dismissed from the Boise State Broncos following a serious of incidents involving violent outbursts towards his then-girlfriend and female roommate.
Sibley said Ukwuachu maintains his innocence despite the conviction. They have these discussions: ‘Do we bring him on?
A star player transfers to a school located in a city large enough to have its own newspaper and television stations, sits out an extra year because of unexplained “issues” and … that’s it, we’re accepting that now?
Ultimately, she said she transferred to another school in Texas to avoid the possibility of randomly running into Ukwuachu on campus.
The Big 12 should adopt the SEC proposal that prohibits giving a scholarship or playing time-or even practice reps-to any transfer who has been “subject to official university of athletics department disciplinary action” during enrollment at any previous collegiate institution “due to serious misconduct.”
With the ball back in Briles’ hand, and after Ukwuachu was sentenced in court, Briles issued one more statement to clarify his side of the story. “I know and respect Coach Petersen and he would never recommend a student-athlete to Baylor that he didn’t believe in”.
Following Ukwuachu’s conviction, Baylor released a statement that “acts of sexual violence contradict every value Baylor University upholds as a caring Christian community”.
“That’s been an ongoing situation for I don’t know, a year and a half probably, and we’ve been real sensitive to the process”, Briles said. “Lord, no. No, there’s no truth”, Briles said.
Baylor is expected to challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff this season and is ranked in the Top 5 in many national preseason polls.
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After Ukwuachu’s sentencing was handed down, the school released a statement saying it would conduct a “comprehensive internal inquiry into the circumstances associated with this case and the conduct of the offices involved”.
