Oregon defensive lineman Eddie Heard has been suspended indefinitely following a Wednesday arrest.
According to The Oregonian, Heard, a redshirt junior, was arrested Wednesday evening and is facing misdemeanor assault and harassment charges. Heard is accused of punching a woman in the face outside a bar in the early morning hours of Oct. 30.
According to a summary of the case provided by UO police, Heard’s arrest came one day after a woman reported that early on Oct. 30 — hours after Oregon’s 54-35 home win against Arizona State — Heard had “repeatedly touched her” inside Taylor’s Bar and Grill.
The woman told police that after she protested loudly, Heard slapped her and she pushed him back before leaving the bar between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Outside the bar, near the corner of East 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street, the woman told police that Heard approached before punching her in the face. Police interviewed “multiple witnesses,” including Heard, before arresting him before 6 p.m. Wednesday.
In a brief statement announcing Heard’s suspension, Ducks coach Mark Helfrich said the program “will take appropriate action as details develop.”
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Heard has been a reserve since arriving at Oregon as a junior college transfer in 2014. He redshirted his first season with the program before playing in 11 games and totaling five tackles in 2015. This season, Heard has played in all eight games this season but has not registered a tackle this season. He moved from linebacker to defensive end before the season with the move from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense under new coordinator Brady Hoke.
Heard is the second member of the Oregon defense to be suspended this season, joining linebacker Torrodney Prevot. Prevot was suspended before the season began and has not returned to the field after a woman alleged she was physically assaulted by Prevot.
Oregon, now 3-5 after beating Arizona State over the weekend, faces USC on the road on Saturday.
For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
