DANVILLE, Va. (ABP) — A student athlete at historically Baptist Averett University has been suspended from the men’s basketball team and could face and could face criminal charges after allegedly beating a teammate at practice Feb. 13.
The Register & Bee newspaper in Danville, Va., reported that freshman forward Rakeem Davis was kicked
 Freshman guard Mike Ferrell was hospitalized with injuries reportedly inflicted by a teammate on Averett University’s men’s basketball team. The photo of his alleged assailant has been removed from the team roster. (AverettCougars.com) |
The newspaper cited unnamed sources who said Davis punched Ferrell in the face, Ferrell fell to the floor after hitting his head on a wall and Davis jumped on Ferrell and hit him twice more before being restrained by a teammate.
Ferrell, 19, was taken to a local hospital and transferred Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he was moved to intensive care. A university spokesman said he is expected to fully recover from the injuries and was scheduled to be transferred out of hospital’s intensive care unit Feb. 16.
Averett players wore Ferrell’s initials and uniform number on their socks during a Feb. 14 victory that moved the team into first place in the USA South Athletic Conference standings.
Davis, 19, was reportedly removed from campus and, pending the outcome of an investigation by the Danville Police Department, could face criminal charges. While enrolled, he also is subject to the university’s student judicial process, which could result in his expulsion from the school.
Averett’s student code of conduct forbids fighting and “expects each of its students to be of high moral character and meet or exceed all standards of decency normally expected” of an institution founded on Christian principles.
Averett was affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia for 145 years, until a dispute over homosexuality prompted the state’s Baptists to sever ties with the 800-student school in 2005.
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Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.
Related ABP stories:
Virginia Baptists, Averett University agree to sever 145-year relationship (4/8/2005)
Gay pride week clouds ties between Va. Baptists, Averett University (3/15/2005)