Eight Colorado Football Players Involved in an Air Soft Gun Incident in Boulder
As parents all around the country have said before, nothing good ever happens after 2 am. That was certainly the case for eight University of Colorado football players on Saturday night.
Police officers in Boulder pulled over two cars containing eight members of the CU football team after witnesses thought the air soft gun they were pointing at each other was an actual pistol. Jered Bell, Keenan Canty, Jermane Clark, Joshua Moten, Jeffery Thomas, DaVaughn Thornton, Paul Vigo, and Derrick Webb were the players reportedly in the incident.
Although no arrests were made or tickets issued, the incident still raised alarm and concern just two weeks after the tragic shooting in Aurora about 45 minutes from Boulder.
Head coach Jon Embree released this statement about the incident:
“This behavior is never condoned by our university or our program, and the players who were involved will be disciplined appropriately,” Embree said.
According to the police report, around 2 a.m. Saturday morning police were waved down by a woman saying that she saw a passenger in a silver sedan pointing a gun at another sedan right next to it. Police soon caught up to the two cars and called for back up with nine officers eventually arriving at the scene.
That’s when the situation got a little out of hand. Police ordered several of the players out of the car at gunpoint when the players became antagonistic with the officers and some words were exchanged. When the men were told about a report of a gun in the car, Clark told officers, “Yeah, but it’s a BB gun,” according to the report. Officers reported finding a black AirSoft pistol in the front seat that police said was labeled as and had the appearance of an authentic Walther P99, a semi-automatic pistol. The players said they were just playing around with the gun and that they all knew each other.
Embree has been known to crack down on players that get in trouble and he displayed that style last year when he suspended five players for breaking team rules. He hold his players accountable for anything and everything that they do and it’s welcome change from the previous regime. It’s unknown what punishment he will dole out to these eight but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they missed some time during fall camp.
If they do miss some time it could hurt the Buffs as they prepare for their second season in the Pac 12. Thornton, a junior wide receiver, appeared in all 13 games in 2011 and notched six catches for 69 yards, while Kanty, a sophomore wide receiver, appeared in 12 games and caught 14 passes for 161 yards while also returning kicks. The receiving corp is already diminished due to injuries so any further suspensions will severely limit the Buffs passing attack.
Webb, a junior linebacker, appeared in all 13 games, while Moten, a sophomore defensive back, appeared in five and scored once on a fumble return. Paul Vigo played in four games in 2010, including a start at nickelback against Hawaii, but he missed significant time due to injury and saw limited action last season as a junior. Bell, a sophomore defensive back, appeared in all 12 games in 2010, but suffered an ACL tear and missed all of 2011. Thomas and Clark are both freshmen on the team but this is not a good way to start off their careers in Boulder.
After establishing a culture in his first year on the job last season, Embree hoped that this year could be solely focused on football. However, it looks like there is still some work to be done to cement the new culture in Boulder.
