Four Alabama Players Arrested, Charged With Felonies
Four Alabama football players have been arrested and chared with a variety of felonies. Per the Tuscaloosa News: running back Brent Calloway, 20, was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card. Tyler Hayes, 18, was charged with two counts of third-degree robbery. D.J. Pettway, 20, was charged with second-degree robbery, while Eddie Williams, 20, was charged with second-degree robbery and fraudulent use of a credit card. Two of the players, Calloway and Pettway, were part of Alabama's 2011 recruiting class, the nation's top ranked in the country according to Rivals.com. While Hayes and Williams were part of Alabama's top-ranked 2012 recruiting class.
Per Rivals 2011 and 2012 class rankings Eddie Williams was a five star and the number 24 player in the nation, Brent Calloway was a four star, the 38th ranked player in the nation and D.J. Pettway and Tyler Hayes were both four stars, the 145th and 151st best players in the nation, respectively.
Three of the players, Williams, Pettway, and Hayes admitted to police that they'd beaten and robbed two Alabama students. At least one of the Alabama students was beaten unconscious. Given that the players have admitted to the crimes -- assuming they validly waived their Miranda rights -- they have no real defenses and are likely to be kicked off the team. Calloway, who has now been arrested twice since arriving on campus, is charged with a less serious offense and recently Tweeted, "first it wasn't a credit card and 2 I wasn't even awake during the robbery you don't kno what happened so dont try me dude."
So maybe he can remain on the team, but the other three guys are gone for sure.
How did Bama police track down the genius robbers?
The stolen cards were used to buy snacks in the football dorm.
Snacks, really.
As several of y'all noted on Twitter, imagine being a huge Bama football fan, as the students probably are, and then getting knocked unconscious and robbed by your idols.
Ouch.
All four players have posted bail and Alabama has yet to issue an official comment. Presumably this is because the Crimson Tide athletic staff is still working on the grave of the unfortunate staffer who gave Nick Saban news of the arrests.
In more positive news, Miss Tuscaloosa, Stormie Henderson, was also arrested on the same day as the four Alabama football players.
John L. Smith approves.
And there is a shining light here, Bama was over the scholarship limit. So, voila, four new scholarships are now available.
In the meantime, Alabama athletic director Mal Moore has issued a statement: “This is a very serious matter and we are very disappointed in the actions that have resulted in the charges against these student-athletes. In this type of situation, the Athletics Department works in conjunction with the University. We will have more to say at the appropriate time.”