Football fans at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are undoubtedly eager to see the Volunteers take on the underdog Georgia State Panthers in this weekend’s 2019 season opener. While the Vols are certainly favorites in the game, the visitors’ chances got a boost when coach Jeremy Pruitt recently announced that starting cornerback Bryce Thompson has been suspended indefinitely.
The star backfield defender was arrested this past weekend on a charge of misdemeanor domestic assault.
According to a CBS news report, University of Tennessee police officers responded to an 8 p.m. call about an incident between the football player and a woman. Thompson allegedly threatened the woman with violence. Both he and she told officers that they have been in a relationship for four years.
He reportedly threatened others present as well.
Officers reported that they found the sophomore cornerback “extremely upset and agitated,” and they noted that they had observed damage to a wall and gate at the campus location.
Thompson was booked on the domestic violence charge and was released the following morning after he posted a $3,000 bond.
In 2018, he emerged as one of the team’s brightest players, recording three interceptions and 34 tackles, earning a spot on the freshman All-American squad.
Those impressive statistics will be of no use in court, however. That is why he and all others facing domestic violence charges should decline to comment to investigators or prosecutors and instead immediately contact a criminal defense attorney experienced in both negotiations and at trial.