Thursday, 14 February 2013

From national championship to jail for 4 Alabama football players


Just a month after winning another national championship, some Alabama players have been arrested on robbery charges.
Just a month after winning another national championship, some Alabama players have been arrested on robbery charges.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • All four players are suspended indefinitely, head coach Nick Saban says
  • Two victims said they were attacked during robberies, police said
  • WTVM: Two players are accused of using a victim's debit card at a vending machine
  • Coach: "This behavior is ... not representative of our football program"
(CNN) -- Just a month after reveling in the glory of a national championship, four members of the University of Alabama football team have been arrested after a pair of campus robberies.
The accused are all freshmen players for the Crimson Tide, which beat Notre Dame in a resounding 42-14 victory last month to clinch the BCS National Championship. It was the Crimson Tide's third national title in the past four years.
Three of the players -- defensive lineman Dennis "D.J." Pettway, linebacker Tyler Hayes and running back Brent Calloway -- appeared in 13 games last season.
The fourth, defensive back Eddie Williams, was a redshirt who did not play, The Crimson White campus newspaper reported.
According to police, Pettway, Hayes and Williams punched and kicked a student shortly after midnight Monday until he was unconscious, CNN affiliate WVTM reported.
The student's backpack with an Apple Macbook Pro was stolen, police said.
About an hour later, Williams allegedly beat up another student until he, too, lost consciousness and took his wallet, WTVM said.
Hayes and Pettway waited in a vehicle, police said.
Later that morning, Williams and Calloway used the second victim's debit card to buy snacks from a vending machine, police said.
The football program suspended all four players indefinitely.
"The University and football program have strict guidelines regarding issues of this magnitude," Alabama head football coach Nick Saban said. "This behavior is unacceptable for any student-athlete at the University of Alabama and not representative of our football program."
Police charged Williams, Pettway and Hayes with robbery, a university spokeswoman said.
Williams was also charged with using a debit card fraudulently, as was Calloway, the spokeswoman said.
All four teammates were booked into Tuscaloosa County Jail and posted bond, WTVM said.

 
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