LEXINGTON, Ky. — Six University of Kentucky football players charged with burglary are not currently practicing with the team, the school confirmed Saturday.
On Thursday, UK players Reuben “R.J.” Adams, JuTahn McClain, Andru Phillips, Earnest Sanders, Vito Tisdale and Joel Williams were charged with first-degree burglary in Fayette County. Tisdale was also charged with first-degree wanton endangerment. The charges stem from a March 6 incident that occurred at a private residence during a party held by Alpha Sigma Phi, a fraternity that’s on disciplinary probation due to “various violations” stemming from the same party.
The football players were suspended for 11 weeks in the spring until a student conduct review was completed, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. They were cleared to return to practice following completion of that review, and they were participating up until charges were filed Thursday.
During an arraignment on Friday, all six players entered not guilty pleas to the burglary charges. Tisdale also pleaded not guilty to the wanton endangerment charge. All six have hearings scheduled for Wednesday.
“This is different,” said Stoops, who issued a statement acknowledging the charges and previous suspension on Thursday afternoon. “I’m not sure when they’ll be back. There’s a process. The legal process needs to play out. We need to see in this discovery if there’s something that we didn’t know about. We don’t have all that information and their attorneys don’t have all that information yet.
“When they receive that info and we get the discovery, we’ll make decisions from there. … But they deserve an opportunity to defend themselves, and we’ll let that process play out.”
A “physical altercation” occurred during the March 6 incident, and some people suffered injuries, according to court records, but the types of injuries and severity thereof were not disclosed in a criminal complaint filed into court.
Anonymously-sourced accounts of the March 6 incident were published by WDRB, a Louisville TV station, on Friday. One speaker alleged that a football player who came to the party accused another party attendee of being racist but disputed that race was a factor in the incident. Kyle Tucker of The Athletic reported Thursday that the UK players, as part of their defense, will cite usage of the n-word at the party.
Stoops, whose team was among the first in the Southeastern Conference to prominently endorse the Black Lives Matter movement last summer, was asked Saturday about racial tensions on UK’s campus.
“Our players really enjoy going to school here and we have a good culture,” Stoops said. “Guys are strong and very united. Situations happen. Things happen. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to talk any more about that, but you’ve heard the accusations.”
Thursday’s charges are the latest in an offseason wrought with legal incidents involving the UK football team. Dan Berezowitz, a member of Stoops’ staff through his entire tenure in Lexington and currently his chief of staff, had a fourth-degree assault charge dismissed in court this week but remains suspended by the university.
Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight was arrested for a DUI in northern Kentucky in May but later agreed to a plea deal that saw that charge dismissed.
“You asked if the outside perception will take a hit,” Stoops said in response to a question about his team’s culture and run of legal issues. “I’m not sure. That’s up to you all and everybody can come to their own conclusion. I know we feel strongly about the culture of our team and in our building. But any time there’s any people with things happening, we address it and try to do the best we can.
“Every situation’s different and you’re always concerned when things happen to people. They’re all human beings. Human beings aren’t perfect. When those things happen, we address it and try to improve, and continue to move forward.”
