Prosecutors unsure about Notre Dame players’ fate
September 23, 2008
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Prosecutors will review police reports before deciding whether to file formal charges against Notre Dame tight end Will Yeatman and center Mike Golic Jr., son of an ESPN television host. They were among nearly 40 people arrested on preliminary alcohol charges at a weekend party.
Police reports could be filed Monday, but the prosecutor’s office did not know how quickly decisions on charges would be made.
Yeatman, 20, faced preliminary charges of consumption of alcohol by a minor, false informing and resisting arrest, while Golic, 18, faced a preliminary charge of consumption of alcohol by a minor, Police Sgt. William Redman said.
Women’s basketball player Brittany Mallory, 19, also faced a preliminary charge of minor consumption. A woman who answered a phone listed under Mallory’s name hung up when The Associated Press called Monday.
Yeatman could face more serious charges because he pleaded guilty in February to drunken driving and reckless driving for driving on a campus sidewalk. The plea agreement said if Yeatman stayed out of trouble for a year, the drunken driving charge would be dismissed and he would be sentenced only for reckless driving.
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Police said they arrested 37 people and ticketed one juvenile at a home in South Bend about 2 a.m. Sunday, hours after Notre Dame’s 23-7 loss Saturday at Michigan State.
Those arrested also included some members of the Notre Dame lacrosse team. Police said Sunday that members of the soccer team were arrested, but none of the names on the list of those arrested match names on either the men’s or women’s soccer rosters.
Golic’s father, Mike Golic, is co-host of “Mike & Mike in the Morning.” He said on the show Monday he couldn’t say much about what happened “other than everything is going to be fine. We learn lessons in life all the time. And he’s a good kid.”
The AP left a message for Yeatman on his cell phone.
No disciplinary action against the players was immediately announced, and university spokesman Dennis Brown said Monday he could not comment on the arrests.
Women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw said the matter is being handled “internally in accordance with our team rules and procedures.”
Yeatman had played in all three football games this season for the Irish, making two catches for six yards. Golic, a freshman, has not yet played.
Mallory averaged 6.3 points and made the All-Big East freshmen women’s basketball team last season.