The star of the Long Island University Brooklyn basketball team and three other players were suspended Friday after they were arrested on assault charges in a campus brawl.
Julian Boyd, a forward named the Northeast Conference player of the year last year, high scorers Jamal Olasewere and Troy Joseph, and a fourth player, C.J. Garner, were arrested Thursday and were awaiting arraignment Friday.
Boyd, 22, who was out for a season with a heart ailment, and Olasewere, 21, were the soul of the Blackbirds — high-scorers and tough performers in a team that is a melting-pot of players from all over the country who typified New York's street smarts and swagger. Olasewere was an NEC all-conference selection last year.
The fight broke out during a welcome-back party for students at the Brooklyn campus last weekend.
Two of the four victims were female, and contrary to published reports, the altercation did not involve members of the track team, according to a university spokesperson.
A call left with an attorney believed to represent the players was not immediately returned.
LIU Brooklyn Provost Gale Stevens Haynes said in a statement that an investigation revealed the students violated the university student code of conduct and that no other students were implicated in the altercation Sept. 15.
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"Behavior that jeopardizes the security of our students is unacceptable. It is essential that our students feel safe on campus," she said.
She said the school would have no further comment, pending completion of the legal process.
The Blackbirds won the Northeast Conference regular-season and tournament titles the past two seasons. They went 25-9 last season, 16-2 in the conference, and lost to North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The team is ranked No. 1 in the conference and recently promoted assistant Jack Perri to replace Jim Ferry as head men's basketball coach. Perri was on the staff at LIU for seven seasons, the last five as associate head coach.
School officials wouldn't say what would happen to the lineup. The team doesn't begin practice until October and games don't begin until November.
Olasewere is from Bartonsville, Md.; Boyd is from San Antonio; Garner, 22, is from Silver Spring, Md.; and Troy, 21, is from Brooklyn.
