A civil rights group is calling for an investigation into the abrupt dismissal of a Castleton University football player who was cut from the team without warning.
Player Hezekiah Williamson was heavily recruited from a Division I school before coming to Castleton's Division III team. He says he really liked playing for the Spartans, and he was shocked when the head football coach called him into his office to break the news.
The sudden and unexplained action has prompted the Champlain Area NAACP to ask the university for a complete investigation into the incident on Williamson’s behalf.
The group also wants information on an incident that occurred several weeks after the dismissal, when Williamson was allegedly subdued in his dorm room by campus security and charged with misdemeanor assault by Castleton police. His family believes their son was set up, because of the way the events unfolded that night.
Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli of the Rutland Herald has been following this issue, and she spoke with VPR about the ongoing story.
Read her coverage of the incident here, and read about Williamson's allegations that the school violated his privacy here.