NBA
Providence players face sexual assault allegation
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Police are investigating a female student’s allegation that two members of the Providence basketball team sexually assaulted her in November.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Providence student came foward within the last month to report the alleged incident.
Providence police would not name the players, but freshmen Rodney Bullock and Brandon Austin were suspended from the team for the season on Nov. 6, three days after the alleged assault occurred.
The college would not provide details of the suspension, but Bullock’s attorney, Bill Lynch, said the school determined at that time that there was no finding of a sexual assault.
Bullock remains on scholarship at Providence and is practicing with the team. Austin left Providence for the University of Oregon, where he is now on the basketball team.
“This does provide the opportunity to stress that we will not compromise the promise that we’ve made to ourselves, our school, our students and their families to build and run the most respected men’s basketball program in the nation,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said in a statement. “A program that will expect our student-athletes to meet the highest standards, both on and off the court.
“This promise was the foundation of my decision in November to suspend the two young men indefinitely for failing to meet the standards expected of student-athletes while the college’s internal disciplinary process took place. So while I cannot talk about this situation further, it is a reminder that the privilege of representing Providence College comes with great responsibility for our student-athletes.”
Providence plays North Carolina on Friday in an NCAA Tournament game in San Antonio.
