Whether you’re a fan of a power conference university or small Division 1-AA program, players continue to steal headlines for their off the field problems as the Temple Owls had two players – Dion Dawkins and Haason Reddick – arrested in connection to a January aggravated assault case. The Philadelphia Inquirer originally broke the news, stating that the duo allegedly broke the orbital bone and inflicted a concussion on a senior Temple student during a local party.
The school released a statement regarding the situation and the handling of the investigation:
Temple University is aware of allegations of improper conduct by two of its student-athletes at an off-campus location in January. The university has, and will continue, to fully cooperate with the Philadelphia Police Department in its investigation and will take appropriate actions outlined in the Student Conduct Code. The two students have been suspended from football team activities pending further investigation.
Both players were integral to the Owls success in the 2014 season, a year in which the program improved from 2-10 to 6-6, and were expected to be major contributors for next year’s squad. Still, with the case lingering, its difficult to anticipate the two juniors returning to the program for quite some time or maybe ever. If that’s the case, Temple will be without a starting offensive lineman in Dawkins and a linebacker that appeared in nine games in Reddick. Both players are innocent until proven guilty and fans should not rush to judgement until the case plays out.
*Section Photo credit to Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Howard Smith, USA Today Sports
