Wow......bye bye
Florida Gators four-star freshman Justin Watkins has been indefinitely suspended from the football program after being arrested Tuesday.
Watkins is presently in custody facing four charges, including a pair of third-degree felonies for domestic battery by strangulation and kidnapping-false imprisonment of an adult. He is also facing two first-degree misdemeanor battery charges. The arrest was made by the University Police Department.
According to the police report, as obtained by WCJB TV20 (ABC), Watkins is accused of striking a woman “both with an open and closed fist on both sides of her head” and choking her on more than one occasion while holding her down on a bed in a dorm room on July 20. He then allegedly blocked the door when the woman tried to leave the room and attempted to physically restrain her until she spayed him with mace and escaped. Watkins did not stop there, according to the report, as he also allegedly chased the woman out of the dorm and “threw multiple items at her including a brush and container of ‘hair grease’ causing bleeding and swelling.”
This is the second incident in which Watkins has been involved since joining the program. Back in May, he was arrested for trespassing on school grounds following a verbal altercation with a woman that allegedly included destruction of property.
At the time, head coach Dan Mullen noted he was “aware of the incident” and “collecting information.” No punishment was ever announced for Watkins as this occurred after spring practice and the player was not yet enrolled at Florida.
Watkins has since enrolled in the Summer B semester and formally joined the Gators. Mullen announced Watkins’ suspension “from all team activities” in a brief statement to 247Sports, which first reported the arrest.
Ranked as the 89th best player in the nation, Watkins was expected to join Florida as a wide receiver but may actually begin his career in the secondary — should he wind up remaining on the team this season — due to an immediate need at the cornerback position. Mullen had previously discussed the possibility with Watkins but said he would ultimately let him choose to play where he felt most comfortable in 2018.
Florida freshman Justin Watkins facing felony domestic battery charge, suspended by Gators
