Former TCU safety Jacob Fields turns himself in on assault charge related to his removal from team

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Former TCU safety Jacob Fields turned himself in to Tarrant County authorities on Sunday for an assault charge stemming from a locker room incident with a teammate that led to him getting kicked off the team.

Online county records showed that Fields was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. TCU is located in Tarrant County.

Fields was accused of striking wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma in the locker room Aug. 13. TCU reported the incident to campus police the following day and Fields was later removed from the team.

TCU said in a statement on Aug. 18 that Fields, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, was no longer on the team due to a violation of team rules.

Fields voluntarily turned himself in Sunday, according to a statement from his agent, Philip “Red” Milller of PM3 Sports. Miller also said the player has an attorney and will allow the legal process to run its course.

“I understand the media and public may be looking for an explosive statement from Jacob or me. Now is not the time or the place,” Miller said. “We will not try this case through social media or the court of public opinion. There is a proper place for the facts to be heard, and we will respect that process.”

Ezukanma, a junior receiver, said in a since-deleted Instagram video that he took a sucker punch from behind from Fields, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The newspaper also reported that a man who appeared in the video with Ezukanma said the receiver was knocked unconscious when his head hit the ground.

The Horned Frogs lost their season opener 15-10 to North Carolina on Saturday in Ireland, where two days before the game coach Sonny Dykes briefly addressed the incident.

“It wasn’t anything that we expected. It was something that was certainly out of character for the team and the young man that was involved,” Dykes said. “Look, you’ve got 110 football players. I mean, things happen sometimes, and you’ve to find ways to move through them.”

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