Per multiple reports, Will Mahone was dismissed from Notre Dame last night due to his June 14 arrest. The South Bend Tribune reported that Mahone would like to return to ND one day via a statement from his lawyer:
James Gentile, Mahone’s attorney, said Monday night that Mahone would like to return to Notre Dame. But, Gentile said, Mahone is of the understanding that he will not be allowed to return to the school as long as the felony charges against him are pending.
“That’s what the school has told him,” Gentile said. “If for some reason those felonies are reduced or something happens, then he’s free to reapply.”
It’s important to note that this is a University decision and not a Brian Kelly one. When the story of the arrest broke, Brian Kelly reacted quickly and suspended Mahone indefinitely from all football activities.
Based on this development, it stands to reason that the University feels the felony charges and case against Mahone are serious enough to cut ties with the 20 year old. Those charges are assault of a police officer, intimidation of a public servant/party official and vandalism of a government entity (and also misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct).
UPDATE [7/8/14, 11:52 AM ET]: It appears the charges for Mahone are different than what the SBT reported. Per Vindy.com:
A trial is now set for 11:30 a.m. July 23 in the township. Mahone pleaded not guilty to a charge of resisting arrest when he appeared for his arraignment June 16.
He had been arrested on charges of assault on a police officer, vandalism, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and intimidation. According to online court records, he now faces only resisting-arrest and intimidation charges.
That would mean that Mahone is now only facing a single felony charge of intimidation of a public servant/party official and one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.
As we stated in our first report, this incident should not be compared with what happened with Tommy Rees and Carlo Calabrese. If you are wondering why neither of those gentlemen were dismissed from the University, please remember that neither player was formally charged with a felony. Rees was the only one in any real danger of a felony charge (assault of a police officer), but that charge was quickly dropped–it barely lasted even 24 hours.
Likewise, since neither player had a felony levied against them, Brian Kelly was able to take his time in making a decision on disciplinary action. After stewing on it for a summer, he suspended both players for the 2012 season opener, costing Rees and Calabrese a trip to Dublin, Ireland.
The University of Notre Dame has waited nearly a full month to let Mahone’s situation play out before deciding to dismiss him. You can’t ask for much more patience from the ND administration on this matter.
The bottom line is that this is a sad development for Mahone and I certainly hope that he is able to put his life back together. We here at HLS certainly hope that, no matter what the result of Mahone’s proceedings, he is able to do so.
Texan by birth, Irish by choice.
First-generation Domer and a former student manager, HLS podcast host, HLS Sim creator, Extra Life streamer, and technical problem haver. You can find more non-Notre Dame related writing on his Patreon.
- Epilogue - January 3, 2022
- HLS Podcast Finale - January 2, 2022
- The Final Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State NCAA ’14 Sim - December 31, 2021
