Player Kicked Off NCAA Basketball Team, Faces Deportation
Rutgers University basketball player Issa Thiam has been dismissed from the team and faces deportation after his arrest on domestic violence charges.
Thiam, a junior forward from Dakar, Senegal, is accused of slapping a woman and swinging a knife at her after she refused to give up her cellphone.
The Asbury Park Press reports his attorney, Charles Sciarra, said after Thiam’s release from jail Tuesday that his client is “still in shock.”
I spoke with Issa Thiam’s attorney, who said the Rutgers basketball player is “still in shock” over his arrest. Charles Sciarra also addressed Thiam’s swift dismissal from the team, reaction from those in the program and what’s next: https://t.co/S1rRWbFnib via @AsburyParkPress
— Jerry Carino (@NJHoopsHaven) March 12, 2019
Sciarra said Thiam has “no ill feelings toward Rutgers.”
He said his client denies threatening the woman with a knife.
Thiam was suspended indefinitely after his arrest Friday, and then dismissed from the team Monday.
He has been charged with simple assault, false imprisonment and making terroristic threats, among other offenses.
NJ.com reports Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell says the team has had many obstacles this year, and this is another one they will have to fight through.
Rutgers’ Steve Pikiell on how team is dealing with Issa Thiam’s arrest | It’s an ‘obstacle’ going into Big Ten Tournament https://t.co/rls4qxOX3R pic.twitter.com/FcJk5yqKsR
— NJ.com (@njdotcom) March 11, 2019
Thiam has been ordered to surrender his passport, and a judge has barred him from Rutgers University campus.
He is due back in court April 5.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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