Washington running back Johri Fogerson was suspended indefinitely from the football team as soon as he was arrested, Sportspress Northwest has learned. He has not been reinstated by Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Fogerson was jailed by the Washington State Patrol in Snohomish County early March 3 on suspicion of resisting arrest and possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana. Bail was posted several hours later.
The university’s policy puts the decision to lift a suspension in the hands of the coach following a misdemeanor. When an athlete is arrested or charged with a violation of criminal law, they are placed on administrative suspension from all team activities pending further investigation.
If the allegation is a misdemeanor, the head coach can remove the player from suspension. If it’s a felony, only athletic director Scott Woodward can lift the suspension.
Each case is evaluated on its own, but the mandatory minimum is suspension immediately following arrest.
In the case of men’s basketball player Venoy Overton, he was suspended Tuesday by coach Lorenzo Romar after being charged with providing alcohol to minors, a gross misdemeanor. Overton was the subject of a police investigation following a Jan. 8 episode in which a 16-year-old girl, the same one for whom Overton was charged with supplying liquor, made an allegation of rape. Prosecutors declined to file a charge, citing insufficient evidence. Overton was not suspended because he was never charged.
Fogerson was pulled over at 12:25 a.m. on 164th Street and 2nd Avenue in the Mill Creek area for having a headlight out.
Officers spotted a bag of marijuana inside the vehicle. The baggie containing marijuana was handed to the officer who then asked him to step out of the vehicle.
The officer went to handcuff Fogerson and informed him he was under arrest. That is when Fogerson fled eastbound on foot, eluding officers.
The state patrol was informed about 3:20 a.m. that Fogerson wanted to turn himself in. He was booked into Snohomish County jail around 3:50 a.m.
Both charges are misdemeanors.
Fogerson was released at 10:53 a.m. March 3 from Snohomish County jail.
Washington released a statement on the matter:
We are aware of an arrest of a member of the UW football team, Sarkisian said. We are still gathering information and, if and when any action is taken on our part, we will have further comment.
Washington assesses criminal activity on a case-by-case basis. There is no set policy that delineates clear response between a misdemeanor or felony, only the adminstrator responsible for lifting the suspension.
The episodes followed a Sports Illustrated disclosure that few universities conduct background checks of recruits. A university spokesman stressed that the coaches are very thorough and do their due diligence during the recruiting process.
Fogerson spent most of his 2010 junior season on the sideline because of a hip injury. The 6-1, 191-pound running back from Kent had just one carry for six yards prior to the injury.
He has played safety and running back. He was expected to be part of the running back rotation next season. Washington was seeking a medical redshirt for Fogerson after last seasons injury.
Fogerson would face heavy competition for playing time in the fall. Chris Polk, Jesse Callier, Deontae Cooper and incoming freshman Bishop Sankey are expected to compete for carries, with Polk the workhorse of the group.
This is the first arrest for a Washington player since Sarkisian took over the program two years ago. Prior to the Holiday Bowl, Sarkisian talked about how happy he was that players continued to make the right decisions while other schools, notably Holiday Bowl opponent Nebraska, had players in trouble with the law.
6 Comments
“This is the first arrest for a Washington player since Sarkisian took over the program two years ago”. Are you forgetting Andru Pulu? He is just one person that comes to mind off the top of my head. And it wasn’t some petty weed related incident, he beat the hell out of someone who was trying to break up a fight. It’s just like a husky fan to twist the truth into their favor.
Ya know, it’s so sad when those outside influences pull a young man away from his childhood dream of great possibilities. It’s one thing to be pulled by some innocent peer pressure and “experiement” with the trappings of life, but it’s quite another to allow yourself to possess such an “ego” that you feel you are entitled to do whatever you want without a second’s thought of the possible negative repercussions that would and will drastically affect your young life. Aren’t there enough examples of this type of childhish nonsense splashed across the headlines? In all honesty, Sark needs to sit down with Don James and take a page from his old character summations about bringing a promising football player aboard the UW’s program. Hey, don’t get me wrong here, Steve is doing the best he can, but further knowledge implemented by the winningest coach in the history of UW football lore, would benefit him in ways he may not know. “Old-School” wisdom often times is overlooked as not affective practices within the ever growing realm of modern ideologies. But the one thing about human nature is that it never changes. At its core it’s the same. It’s just our environment which we come to create changes and our adaptation needs a solid foot to stand on to be grounded in those former strengths that continue to cast a fleeting existence in our day to day lives. I hope this kid can rebound. Every one deserves a second chance in life. If they screw-the-pooch again; well then it’s time to hit the road, never to return again. I wish this young man the very best as he takes a deep hard look at What Matters Most!