The ongoing saga involving former TCU safety Jacob Fields took another turn Sunday when the athlete turned himself in to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office over an alleged fight inside the Horned Frogs’ locker room.
According to court records, Fields was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. His bond was set at $50,000, and he was released later that afternoon.
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The Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported the locker room incident, which allegedly involved Fields striking TCU wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma. Fields was dismissed from the program for violating team rules following the incident.
Fields transferred to TCU from Louisiana Tech, where he was named the Conference USA Defensive player of the year last season.
The legal process continued on Sunday, with the former TCU safety being booked.
Cory Dubose, who represents Fields, released a statement on social media on Sunday, mentioning that he was not allowed at the initial court appearance.
“Jacob’s bond has been set at $50,000. This bond was set at a hearing where I was denied access to defend him. Worse, a jailer informed us that the bond “would probably be set at $50,000″ prior to him having a hearing.”
In a crazy twist to this entire situation, TCU would go on to revoke the media credentials of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram the following week, based on their coverage of the alleged locker room incident that has now resulted in the arrest of Fields.
This action led to an outcry on social media from members of the press, though the school has not changed its stance on credentialing the outlet.
Before TCU traveled to Ireland for its game against North Carolina, head coach Sonny Dykes finally addressed the situation.
“It was something that was certainly out of character for the team and the young man that was involved,” Dykes said. “Look, you got 110 football players. I mean, things happen sometimes. You’ve got to find ways to move through them, and, man, these young kids are resilient.
“It’s like anything else, when something bad happens, it becomes a teaching moment. And so we were able to teach our players, and I think the guys are better off from having gone through it.”
Not only was the football program dealing with the fallout from this locker room incident, they are now coming off a lackluster loss to North Carolina this past weekend in Ireland.
Going into the contest, there was talk of this being the last season for Bill Belichick if he could not turn the Tar Heels program around.
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Now, the conversation has shifted toward Sonny Dykes, who is clearly missing quarterback Josh Hoover after he transferred to Indiana.
Just over three years ago, TCU was playing for a national championship against Georgia.
Now, they are trying to survive in the Big 12, with Dykes also taking aim at ACC officials following the loss to North Carolina this past Saturday.
“Not having ACC officials, for one,” Sonny Dykes mentioned about fixing the penalty issues. “And then I think we have to do a better job of being more disciplined. We’ve got to be more disciplined, we’ve got to be more — just gotta do a better job.”
It might sound crazy to some, given where TCU stood just a few years ago. But, could Sonny Dykes have traded spots with Belichick, and joined the list of coaches who need a favorable year to save their jobs?
Time will tell. But with the off-field issues, awkward media policies for the TCU athletic department and rough performance in Week 1, the heat had intensified for Sonny Dykes.
As for Jacob Fields, the legal fallout from the alleged incident within the TCU facility will linger into the college football season.
