Robert Barber will be allowed to return the football field after a court-ruling granted a stay of his suspension. Barber was suspended for his role in a fight that resulted in another student suffering a concussion.
The ruling is contingent upon a few stipulations:
- Barber is not to be in contact with the student who was injured in the fight.
- He is not to use drugs.
- He is not to attend parties where drugs or alcohol are present.
The ruling came not so much because Barber for his role in the fight, but rather as the result of a technicality in the legal process. According to Barber’s attorney Steve Graham, the school was not forthright with its investigation of the incident and Washington State’s student conduct board destroyed original questions to witnesses submitted to the board by Barber.
As per Barber’s attorney, Steve Graham:
We were able to raise these technical arguments, but it’s really more than that. The school is held to a high standard, just like they hold their athletes. They’ve got to follow their rules and the judge concluded that they did not.
The judge, David Frazier, also felt that keeping Barber from being able to play would cause him “irreparable harm.”
Barber’s attorney claimed that keeping Barber off the field would provide NFL scouts fewer opportunities to assess his abilities and would have an adverse effect on his ability to earn a wage playing football professionally.
As for where the 6-foot-3, 305 pounder fits on the Washington State roster, that remains to be seen.
Washington State has two games remaining, but they are both against ranked opponents; No. 10 Colorado and No. 7 Washington. The Cougars take on Colorado Saturday afternoon on FOX.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Folsom Field.
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