Just hours before they were pantsed by Miami on national television, Pittsburgh announced they had dismissed backup defensive back Jeff Knox from the football program following an off-field incident Wednesday night.
The school, obviously, did not give any details regarding what led to Knox’s dismissal. The police report, however, does get into the specific allegations, and after reading them it’s easy to understand why Knox was booted so expeditiously.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Knox was arraigned Thursday on charges of recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and simple assault. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred outside of a dormitory, an incident in which it’s alleged Knox attacked a female who had told him she was pregnant.
From the police report:
According to a criminal complaint in the Knox case, Donna Turner, who told police she was Knox’s friend, called Knox Wednesday night to tell him that she was pregnant and needed to speak with him.
She asked him to meet her at Chatham University. The complaint did not indicate whether Turner is a student there. Knox’s cousin drove with him to meet Turner at a Chatham University dormitory. Knox and Turner argued outside of the car and were “screaming at each other.”
Turner told police she tried to hit Knox and he retaliated with an open palm to the head “with such force that she was thrown to the ground.” Knox jumped on top of her, put his hands around her neck and lifted her by her throat. He slammed her head against a wall and held her there by the throat.
Police said two Chatham students standing nearby ran to Turner’s aid. Knox attacked them, throwing punches and knocking them to the ground.
Police said Knox’s unnamed cousin tried to pull him from Turner, but the cousin “was thrown away by Knox also.” Knox was eventually pulled off Turner, and he and his cousin fled by car.
So, yeah, it makes perfect sense, based on the alleged victim’s account of the events, that head coach Dave Wannstedt acted as swiftly as he did.
