Shawndarrius Phillips was the third leading rusher for Florida International this year, getting 94 carries for 393 yards and four touchdowns. Now, that’s not exactly star player production, but when you factor in that FIU distributed the ball pretty evenly between it’s top three backs (Phillips was second on the team in carries), that’s significant.
Well, last week, police arrested him. And, folks – that means he’s not going to get to play in the Bahamas Bowl.
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated:
Florida International running back Shawndarrius Phillips was arrested Wednesday after a warrant for his arrest had been issued more than three months ago, according to the Miami Herald.
Pembroke Park police arrested Phillips on Wednesday night on a domestic battery by strangulation charge. According to the affidavit, Phillips’s ex-girlfriend called the Broward Sheriff’s Office on June 17 and said they had a discussion which then turned physical. She said Phillips tried choking her and walked her over to his couch, which she fell back on, reports the Miami Herald.
Phillips’s ex-girlfriend also said she tried scratching him when he was on top of her. Once he got off of her, Phillips allegedly threatened to break her jaw if she didn’t leave. A warrant was issued for Phillips’s arrest on Aug. 24. After his arrest, Phillips posted the $6,000 bond Thursday, per the Miami Herald.
The junior running back played in 11 games this season with Florida International, tallying 393 yards and four touchdowns on 94 carries. When contacted by the Miami Herald Thursday, a FIU spokesperson said the program had no comment on whether anyone within the football program knew about the alleged incident.
How does a guy go nearly FOUR MONTHS with a warrant out for his arrest? I don’t know maybe some of my friends in law enforcement can help me out here and explain this one. I mean, you knew where he was going to be on Saturdays. Why didn’t the boys in blue just roll up on Riccardo Silva Stadium and take him away in cuffs? Is that not how this thing works?
Also, why are they drawing the line at the bowl game? I mean, they are playing in the Bahamas Bowl….maybe that’s when things got serious for the authorities…they thought, “shit, this guy is liable to go down to the Bahamas and never come back.” So, they had to put their foot down.
Now, FIU comes out and says ‘no comment’ – that’s certainly no admission of guilt. But, how do you not know about this? How does something like this slip through the cracks? Either you were aware of it or you weren’t. If you weren’t, why not just come out and say it? It wouldn’t be an issue to say, “we weren’t aware of this, but we’re investigating,” or something along those lines. Makes me think FIU did, in fact, know about this, and steps were taken to dodge it. I don’t know – just seems inexcusable to me.
UGH – this is why people don’t like sports. If this were a big time program, you can bet people would be chiming in with the “football players get away with anything” take.
We’ll see how this story plays out, but it is for damn sure a bad look for FIU right now.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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