The Rich Rodriguez era has been ushered in with a bit of a thud after four players were arrested after a fight at a party last Friday night.
Sophomore cornerback Jourdon Grandon, sophomore offensive tackle Fabbians Ebbele and sophomore offensive lineman Eric Bender each were charged with criminal trespassing in the first degree and assault and sophomore safety Jared Tevis was arrested for trespassing.
According to the police report obtained by the Daily Wildcat, Tevis was the only player who had actually been invited to the party and the other three tagged along. When the uninvited parties were asked to leave, things escalated.
According to police records, residents asked Tevis and the other players to leave because they were not invited. One of the men responded by shoving one of the women backwards. The man was later identified as former safety Joshua Robbins. After being shoved, the resident slapped Robbins, who then proceeded to punch her in the face — starting a brawl between the football players and members of the party.
The players left after the brawl, but before leaving said, "We will be back with our homies." A short time later, the players returned "in a group of between 10 and 30," and a man later identified as sophomore offensive tackle Fabbians Ebbele forcibly entered the home and "began punching everybody he could reach," according to the report, including the resident who was initially assaulted and her brother.
Yes, you read that right. Robbins and Grandon were both accused of assaulting women, including Grandon who "punched a female guest in her face with a closed fist and began punching other females in the face."
The group was caught after police saw the SUV they were all in speeding away from the house. They were removed from the vehicle, but Ebbele, Grandon and Bender denied they were at the party and said they just showed up to help a friend who had been jumped.
Currently, no charges have been filed, but the athletic department is already conducting its own investigation and athletic director Greg Byrne said in a press release that disciplinary action would be taken.
"We are taking this matter seriously," Byrne said. "We are cooperating fully with the Tucson Police Department, and disciplinary action will be handled accordingly. Due to federal student-privacy laws we will have no further comment."
While none of the three are currently starters, all are competing for spots. Ebbele was expected to start at tackle and Bender at guard. Grandon ranked eighth on the team with 36 tackles and Tevis 12 tackles last season.
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