Saunders Dismissed From Gamecock Program

Saunders dismissed from South Carolina football team

Wednesday, September 15, 2010



Richard Shiro
AP

COLUMBIA — The Saunders saga at South Carolina is over.

A day after coach Steve Spurrier said there was no update about embattled tight end Weslye Saunders, the school announced this afternoon he has been dismissed from the football team.

“Weslye Saunders is no longer part of our football program,” athletic director Eric Hyman said in a release. “Beyond that I will have no further comment.”

One university source said Friday that this move was coming after the Georgia game, despite Saunders telling people on Facebook and Twitter that he had been reinstated to the team.

Another source said today that the senior from Durham, N.C., will be allowed to finish his education, on scholarship, so long as he “does right.”

Saunders is still awaiting a ruling from the NCAA about the possibility of improper contact with agents. He was first investigated by the NCAA in mid-July for allegedly taking a spring break trip to Miami that was funded by agents.

Saunders was also embroiled in the NCAA’s probe into several Gamecocks staying at The Whitney Hotel. Saunders has been at the hotel, a source has said, since May 2009.

Of the 10 scrutinized players, only offensive tackle Jarriel King was forced to sit. That was after the NCAA determined the North Charleston native hadn’t adequately paid what he owed the hotel in rent.

King was cleared Friday and played Saturday against Georgia.

Despite being “encouraged” by Spurrier to move out, which the other nine Gamecocks did, Saunders has remained at The Whitney Hotel. A source told The Post and Courier last week that Saunders had taken out a loan to pay for his rent at the hotel through the fall.

The loan – taken out against Saunders’ draft status, which has been hurt by all of this – also covered the $5,000-plus he owed the hotel in overdue rent.

Players were staying at the hotel for a negotiated $450 a month, but Saunders was the only player not sharing a room with a teammate.

Saunders had been suspended from the team since Aug. 23 after he lied to Spurrier about why he was late to a practice. He told Spurrier he was meeting with the NCAA, but Spurrier checked with the school’s compliance office and figured out that wasn’t true.

In a career that never quite achieved potential, Saunders had 60 catches for 718 yards and six touchdowns. Saunders, though, had really committed himself in the weight room in 2010, primed for an excellent senior season until the NCAA came calling.

Saunders’ career at South Carolina might be over, but his impact could linger.

The NCAA sent a letter of inquiry to the school last week, letting USC know it would be investigating the program for the foreseeable future.

As part of that, the NCAA will certainly look into its control and knowledge of Saunders’ alleged misdeeds.