Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/350567
UNDER THE DOME WILL MAHONE AND NILE SYKES ARE NO LONGER WITH FOOTBALL TEAM Two scholarship players who were expected to be on Notre Dame's 2014 football roster are no longer enrolled at the university. Junior slot receiver Will Mahone's absence stems from police charges in June, while freshman linebacker Nile Sykes enrolled at Indiana University a few weeks after the start of summer school. A native of Austintown, Ohio, the 5-11, 214-pound Mahone was ar- rested in Mahoning County in Ohio for five alleged offenses late on Sat- urday, June 14, two days before Notre Dame's six-week summer school ses- sion commenced. The charges, three of which are felonies, were disorderly conduct/fighting or threatening, as- sault on a police officer, resisting ar- rest, intimidation of a public servant/ public official, and vandalism/gov- ernment entity. Head coach Brian Kelly suspended Mahone indefinitely from all football- related activities, and by June 24 he was no longer enrolled in summer school. In Notre Dame's student handbook "DuLac," the standards of conduct includes this passage: "If a student is charged with a felony, the University, through the Office of Student Affairs or the Office of Community Standards, reserves the right to take summary action and temporarily dismiss the student. Similarly, the University may take summary action to temporarily or permanently dismiss any student convicted of a felony." If there is no conviction and it turns into a temporary dismissal, then a future return by Mahone is possible. Police were called to a residential disturbance involving Mahone, where he re- portedly was highly intoxicated, leading to head-butting and punching vehicles while also trying to fight people. Mahone, a junior wide receiver, was indefinitely sus- pended from the team following his arrest in June. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA