WACO, Texas (ABP) — Two Baylor University athletes were arrested Sept. 4 after allegedly assaulting a woman in a municipal park.
Latara Darrett, a 19-year-old basketball player, and Ashlee Cooper, a 19-year-old volleyball player, were charged with a misdemeanor of assault causing bodily injury, police reported. They were later released on personal-recognizance bonds.
The arrest is another headache for Baylor's athletic program, which received national attention after the 2003 murder of a basketball player by a teammate.
According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, Darrett and Cooper, both sophomores, attacked Chayla Cooper Aug. 7 in Cameron Park. It is not known if Chayla Cooper and Ashlee Cooper are related.
Baylor's student paper, The Baylor Lariat, reported that the assault happened when a late-night verbal confrontation evolved into punches thrown and kicks to the head. Chayla Cooper reportedly drew a knife but didn't use it, according to the Lariat. She was later hospitalized with cuts, bruises and a chipped tooth.
University spokesperson Lori Scot Fogleman said in a statement to the paper that school officials, by law, cannot comment on the incident. It is unclear what action the athletic department will take against the students.
“Baylor follows its own student judicial disciplinary process for all students, as outlined in the student handbook,” Fogleman said. “Any discipline pertaining to participation on our athletic teams is handled internally by our coaches.”
In 2003, 22-year-old basketball player Patrick Dennehy was murdered by his teammate, Carlton Dotson.
Dennehy's death led to an investigation of the entire men's basketball team. The probe uncovered evidence that head coach Dave Bliss had given some team members tuition money and overlooked drug use by others. Bliss and then-athletic director Tom Stanton resigned over the scandal.
At the time of Dotson's conviction, Fogleman told Associated Baptist Press that the national championship recently won by the women's basketball team gave the university a chance to prove the “excellence and integrity” of Baylor and its basketball program.
If convicted, Darrett and Cooper could each face up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine.
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