EUGENE, Ore. -- A day after a star running back for the Oregon Ducks football team pleaded not guilty to domestic assault charges, head football coach Chip Kelly faced the media and said he was dealing with news of this and other criminal cases involving the team on a case-by-case basis.
“I will tell everybody here that the rules of our football team is that you have to be honest, you have to tell the truth. Because if I can't trust you, you can't play here,” Kelly said, and he would "deal with individual situations and the punishment will fit the crime."
LaMichael Keondrae James was taken into custody early Wednesday morning and charged with domestic violence strangulation, assault and menacing, according to the Lane County Sheriff's Office. He was released from jail Thursday without bail, but under special rules. He must wear an electronic surveillance bracelet around his ankle. His next court appearance was scheduled for March 24.
When asked about James, Coach Chip Kelly said he would not give specifics about the freshman.
Kelly defended the Ducks football program and insisted his rule was: "If you're not going to do things the right way, I'm going to mete out a punishment for that."
Ducks in shadow of criminal charges
James' arrest is the latest in a series of several criminal cases involving current Ducks players that Coach Kelly was questioned about during Friday's press conference. However, he said he could not and would not comment about any of the individuals and if reporters wanted to know more about how or if the team was penalizing them, they should talk to the players themselves.
In January, two Ducks players were accused of stealing laptops and other items from a Eugene fraternity. Star quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and backup wide receiver Garrett Embry were implicated in the alleged theft. Embry was later dismissed from the team for what the coach would only describe as "an unspecified violation of team rules." Masoli was not charged in the theft and is still on the team.
More: KGW report on theft at fraternity house
Also on Jan. 24, at least two Ducks football players were involved in a large brawl near the U of O campus. One of them - kicker Rob Beard - was kicked in the head and knocked unconscious during the violent fight. Witnesses said he had been trying to break up the fight because his teammate and fellow kicker Mike Bowlin was getting beaten up.
Wednesday police announced Beard would be cited for assault.
Police previously cited UO football player Matt Simms for investigation of misdemeanor assault in what police allege was an attack on someone Simms thought was involved in beating up Beard. Simms has since left the team. So has Bowlin, who withdrew from the university as both a student and an athlete.
More: Ducks kicker severely beaten / Beard slideshow
As for James, investigators said the alleged incident took place outside James' apartment Monday night. They said a woman who said she was his girlfriend told police the two were arguing and then he grabbed her around the neck and pushed her to the ground. The charges carry a possible one-year prison term.
His coach made a statement to the media on the day news surfaced of his arrest:
"We are concerned anytime a student-athlete is mentioned in a police report," head coach Chip Kelly said in a statement. "We do not condone any behavior that doesn't meet university standards or our football program's standards, and we go to great lengths to actively educate our student-athletes regarding appropriate conduct.
"We have the utmost confidence in the local law enforcement authorities to determine the facts in all instances involving our student-athletes, and will reserve further judgment or comment until further information is available."
The Ducks Web site describes James (#21 in photo above) as one of their strongest freshman players ever. "Few players have ever made the impact in their initial campaign at Oregon as the Pac-10's Offensive Freshman of the Year as evidenced by him [James] becoming the school's first freshman on record to earn the team's Most Outstanding Player accolades," his bio said.
The 20-year-old athlete is from Texas and was ranked the 12th-best running back in the country during his high school career.
James was moved up in the Ducks roster last year when running back LaGarrette Blount was suspended for slugging a Boise State player in the season opener.
That incident brought negative attention to the Ducks and the University of Oregon. Blount was later re-instated near the end of the season, in time to play in the Civil War and the Rose Bowl.
