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Les Miles

Les Miles agrees with one-game suspension for Pooka Williams after domestic violence charge

ARLINGTON, Texas – Les Miles used his opening statement to address a simmering issue. Saying star running back Pooka Williams “has taken responsibility, he’s been remorseful,” the new Kansas coach said he did not determine Williams’ one-game suspension for a misdemeanor domestic battery charge stemming from an incident last December, but agreed with the penalty.

Williams rushed for 1,125 yards in 2018, when he was a first-team all-Big 12 selection and the Big 12’s offensive freshman of the year. The school announced last week that Williams, who had been suspended from team activities since his arrest, will miss the season opener Aug. 31 against Indiana State.

“No violence against a woman is OK,” Miles said. “I did not make this decision but I stand by it and see it as a right one.”

Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr. was been suspended after a domestic violence charge in December.

Williams was charged last December with misdemeanor domestic battery after an 18-year-old woman alleged, according to an arrest affidavit, “she was punched in the stomach, as well as grabbed by the throat.” Last March, Williams entered a 12-month diversion agreement, stipulating that he “grabbed” and “pushed” the woman.

The diversion agreement required him to have no contact with the victim, undergo a domestic violence offender assessment, complete an anger management course and 40 hours of community service, refrain from alcohol and drug use during the period and pay $158 in court costs. If he completes the agreement, the charge would be dropped.

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Additionally, the university issued sanctions, placing Williams on probation until graduation and requiring monthly meetings with a university conduct officer, 40 hours of community service and completion of a sexual violence accountability course.

“Violence will not be acceptable with women, period,” Miles said. “Action was taken immediately. We felt like a strong point was made, not only with Pooka but with the team. Pooka was going through a process for seven months. Pooka went through a legal investigation with the legal community and he also went through the proceeding with the conduct board with the university.”

In a statement released last week by the school, Williams said: “My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m very sorry to those who were impacted by my poor choices. I am disappointed in myself, not just as a man, but as a student-athlete looked up to by younger kids.”

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Kansas adhered to the Big 12’s policy on serious misconduct, which requires decisions on player eligibility after allegations including domestic violence not be made by coaches or athletic department officials.

“The Kansas process followed what our misconduct policy describes,” Bowlsby said. “The decision is made outside the athletics department. That’s the level at which that decision was made.”

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