After admitting to raping an intoxicated 17-year-old girl on campus over the Independence Day weekend,
two University of Miami linebackers have been dismissed from the football team, the Miami Herald reported.
JaWand Blue and Alexander Figueroa, both 20, confessed to Coral Gable police that they bought and provided several alcoholic beverages for the teenager, a student at the school, before bringing her back to Figueroa's dorm room, according to the Herald.
The two were arrested after admitting to police they performed sexual acts on her without her consent and were transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, the newspaper reported.
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"Earlier today, I permanently dismissed JaWand Blue and Alexander Figueroa from the UM football team," Miami athletic director Blake James said in a statement to the Herald. "The University has also suspended the students from school and barred them from all campus facilities while the University conducts an internal investigation and continues to cooperate with local law enforcement."
"Any allegation of a sexual assault is extremely serious, and the university will not tolerate conduct that threatens the sanctity and safety of our students and our campus. We hold all of our students – especially student athletes – to the highest standards of moral conduct. The University is committed to maintaining a safe campus environment for all," James' statement continued.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, Figueroa, a linebacker from Virginia, played in nine games for the Hurricanes last year, starting two of them. He finished the season with 17 tackles, including one sack. Blue, who attended West Boca Raton High in Florida, appeared in one Miami game last season and recorded one tackle.
The case in some ways appeared similar to a May 2011 incident in which Miami defensive lineman Jeffrey Brown was accused of sexual battery on a severely-intoxicated female student in a campus dorm, according to the Herald. Brown was immediately dismissed from the team and the charges were later lowered to false imprisonment and he was sentenced to three years on probation, noted the newspaper.
The arrest followed a list of other dismissals under Hurricanes coach Al Golden following initial allegations by authorities.
The newspaper said linebacker Gabe Terry was booted off the team in April 2013 following charges of felony marijuana possession. Cornerback Thomas Finnie received an indefinite suspension in December 2012 after admitting to police he was involved in a laptop theft on campus.
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