Former Boise State defensive lineman Dereck Boles last week accepted a football scholarship to Arizona.
Boles, who played last season at Coffeyville (Kansas) Junior College, was dismissed from the Boise State team in February 2016 after biting off part of the ear of BSU teammate Chancellor James in a late-night fight.
Boles was acquitted of felony mayhem charges last month. James had two ear surgeries since Boles bit off what court witnesses testified was “a third to a fourth’’ of James’ ear.
You wonder if Boles’ arrival on the football team will give new UA president Robert C. Robbins reason to more closely scrutinize the background of those in the athletic department.
In the last two years, UA basketball player Elliott Pitts was dismissed from the team after findings of sexual misconduct; former UA track coach Craig Carter was arrested for domestic violence and aggravated assault and related charges against a UA athlete; former UA running back Orlando Bradford was arrested for 10 felonies and five misdemeanor charges in multiple domestic violence issues; and UA basketball player Allonzo Trier was suspended 19 games for ingesting a banned substance.
The trials of Carter and Bradford both are scheduled to begin in Tucson on August 1. That’s not going to look good.
This is a dark period for Arizona’s athletic department. Among his first acts as school president, Robbins should be pro-active in demanding changes and implementing a zero-tolerance policy for UA athletes and coaches.
