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FRISCO, Tex. (WIBW) – KU football head coach Les Miles did not waste much time tackling Jayhawks' biggest story during the off-season at Big 12 Media Days.
Kansas' head coach Les Miles will speak at the first day of the Big 12 Conference, organized by the university press in the context of university football on Monday, July 15, 2019, AT & T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo / David Kent)
Kansas' first-year leader was suspended Monday by half-star Pooka Williams for the team's opening game against Indiana State. KU suspended the sophomore from all team activities for seven months due to a suspected domestic battery arrest before letting him join the team on July 8th.
"There is no proper way to say it," says Miles. "There is no violence, violence will not be accepted with women."
Kansas suspended Williams from all activities related to the team shortly after his arrest. The program also instituted mandates for the half-defender as he joined the team.
He will be on probation until graduation, attend monthly meetings with a university conduct official, attend 40 hours of community service, and take a course on responsibility for violence. provided by the University Center for Prevention and Education in Sexual Assault.
"We felt like a strong point was made, not just with Pooka, but the team," Miles said. "He did not have the opportunity to spend time with his team, go to the weight room or simply be part of it."
Miles said that, without making the last call to Williams, he supported what had been done to remedy the situation. A spokesman for the KU told 13 News that KU Sports Director Jeff Long had finally decided to suspend Williams for a match after discussing the situation with the university leadership.
"I did not make that decision, but I keep it and see it as good," Miles said.
In addition to the requirements of the university, Williams signed a diversion agreement with the Douglas County Attorney's Office. He is obliged to submit to an assessment of the offender for domestic violence, to follow an anger management course, to complete 40 hours of community service, to avoid contacting the victim in the case, to do not consume alcohol or drugs for recreational purposes and inform the prosecutor's office of any official contact any law enforcement agency while it is in service within 48 hours of this contact. If these are filled, he gets his charge dropped and avoids the courts.
"He took his responsibilities," said Miles about Williams. "He was very remorseful, he learned from this experience, as did our team, and we are grateful to have him again and again, no violence against a woman is acceptable."
Before Miles spoke about the issue, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby explained how the KU had handled the situation. According to Lawrence Jorunal-World, Bowlsby said the program followed the policy of the conference on serious misconduct.
"First of all, I do not presume to know all the details about it," said Bowlsby, according to the Journal-World. "This is not a policy of domestic violence. It is a serious misconduct policy, so it covers domestic violence but also a wide variety of other things.
"The process in Kansas followed what our misconduct policy describes, namely that the decision is made outside of the sports department and the university's senior administration. 39 is the level at which this decision was made. "
The conference manual states that member institutions deal with serious misconduct issues through institutional procedures. It states that "the member institution must define serious misconduct, but this definition must include sexual assault and domestic violence".
The incident involving Williams dates back to December 5, 2018 when, according to an affidavit obtained by the Kansas City Star and the Lawrence Journal-World, a woman reportedly told a KU police officer on December 6 that Williams had struck at the stomach and had it seized. at the throat.
According to the aforementioned affidavit, as reported by other outlets, during the interrogation of the victim by the agent, the officer noticed that she had bruises on the arms and on the side. She also revealed text messages from Williams showing him that he confessed to hitting her in the arms.
In a stipulation of facts signed by Williams, he admitted to having "knowingly" caused a "physical contact" in a "coarse, insulting or angry" manner with the victim after entering his friend's apartment. He stated that he had confronted the victim, with whom he admitted to having an intimate relationship, by "taking her by the arms" during an argument.
Williams claimed that this argument came from the victim who had misled him. According to the stipulation, other people in the apartment separated Williams and the victim, which caused Williams to leave the room and grab her by the wrist to take her to the hall with her. Others in the apartment have separated them again.
As a freshman in 2018, Williams broke out as an explosive star for the Jayhawks. The Big 12's offensive rookie of the year accumulated 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns in his first campaign. Approaching the upcoming season, he was honored as a member of the team Preseason All-Big 12.
"He's very important to the team," said senior defenseman Mike Lee. "He can only make things happen once he has the ball in his hands, I'm happy to find him, he was the missing piece of the puzzle and now that we have the complete puzzle, we are ready to put us to work. "
"A talent like Pooka, the first team of All-Big 12 as a real freshman, is not something that we see very often," said senior defensive midfielder Bryce Torneden. "To see him again with the team is very important to us."
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