Washington State football players investigated for assault: reports

[July 26, 2016]  SEATTLE (Reuters) - At least six Washington State University football players were being investigated for assault after a fight at a weekend party left two students hospitalized, the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported on Monday.

A fight erupted early on Saturday at a backyard party in the city of Pullman, home of the university in eastern Washington, the newspaper quoted Pullman police commander Chris Tennant as saying.

The fight left a 21-year-old student with a broken jaw that required facial reconstructive surgery, another student unconscious and others with minor injuries, the newspaper reported.

"We're looking at this as a very serious felony assault level based on the injuries to two victims," Tennant told the newspaper.

Tennant said police confirmed Washington State University football players attended the party but expected a lengthy investigation to determine what role in the fight they may have played.

The newspaper said six football players were "persons of interest" and ESPN reported that between five and 12 players could be questioned during an investigation expected to last several weeks.

A video posted online showed a number of people fighting in a yard as people shouted and scattered for safety. The video was captioned: "lol football players causing fights."

The police department did not immediately respond to requests for information.

The university's athletic director, Bill Moos, said in a statement his department was fully cooperating in the police investigation but declined to comment further until the investigation was complete.

"We have high expectations for the conduct of WSU student-athletes, and treat any alleged allegations with the utmost transparency," he said.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle)

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