Oklahoma freshman running back Joe Mixon has been suspended for the 2014 season, the university announced on Monday.
The university's statement said president David Boren accepted AD Joe Castiglione and coach Bob Stoops' recommendation of the year-long suspension in the wake of a July 25 incident.
He will be excluded from all team activities for 2014 and will be deleted from the roster. If he meets unspecified conditions set by the school. Mixon will be allowed to continue as a student and be eligible for financial aid.
"As the university has demonstrated in the past, we are committed to winning the right way," Stoops and Castiglione said in a joint statement. "As an example to others, OU sets the highest possible standards for its student athletes, coaches and staff."
Mixon was arraigned on Monday afternoon in Cleveland County and faces a misdemeanor "outraging public decency" charge for allegedly punching Amelia Monitor, a 20-year-old student at Oklahoma at Pickleman's Gourmet Café, a restaurant near campus.
The judge confirmed a tape of the incident exists, but it cannot be shared until the case is resolved. Molitor reportedly suffered multiple broken bones in her face.
Mixon's lawyer, Kevin J. Finlay, has maintained Mixon's innoncence and expressed disappointment at the county pursuing any charges.
"It is our belief that Joe reacted instinctively after being racially slurred and physically assaulted by a highly intoxicated young woman and her male friend," Finlay said in a statement last week when charges were officially announced. "Justice knows no gender bias and we do not believe Joe's actions were criminal in nature."
The Cleveland County DA, Greg Mashburn, confirmed in a radio interview that he met with Boren, Castiglione and Stoops on Monday morning.
Mixon was a five-star recruit in the 2014 class, the nation's No. 5 running back and an Army All-American. The Oakley, California native was expected to compete for a spot in Oklahoma's running back rotation as a true freshman.
