Days after pleading guilty to charges of domestic assault, senior Blue Raiders receiver Eldred King was suspended for the season Tuesday by Middle Tennessee Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill.
"Eldred made a choice that let his teammates, coaches, and University down," said Stockstill. "This program has a set of core values that we must abide by on a daily basis. Discipline is not always dismissal from the team, it is trying to educate and correct behavior.
As junior, King, 21, shared the team lead in 2008 with 51 receptions for 598 yards and four touchdowns. He has a redshirt year available,
King, according to police reports, has been arrested three times since March 1 and twice pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault. He was sentenced Thursday to 14 days in jail, a year of probation and eight weeks in an anger management program.
He also was ordered to pay the medical and dental expenses of the unidentified female victim in both domestic assaults, according to Rutherford County officials.
Stockstill left the door open to a possible return in 2010.
"Eldred has been excellent in the classroom and on the field and hopefully will learn from his mistakes,” he said. “I have set guidelines for him to follow and if he adheres to them he will be able to play his senior season."