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This is the kid from Year of The Bull.
Foley dismisses Charles from football team
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By LOUIS ANASTASIS</article:cutline_name>
<article:cutline_title>Alligator Staff Writer</article:cutline_title>
Linebacker Taurean Charles has been kicked off the UF football team.
Athletics Director Jeremy Foley made the decision after holding a 20-minute meeting with Charles Tuesday morning.
“Taurean Charles is no longer a member of our football program,” said Foley in a released statement. “We wish Taurean the best of luck in the future.”
UF’s office of Student Judicial Affairs had suspended Charles academically for the summer on March 16.
Charles, however, was prepared to brave the suspension and return to football in the fall provided that Foley would grant him reinstatement. On Tuesday, Foley eliminated such a possibility.
“He kept telling me that we have a president that has a low-level tolerance and a coach that’s not going to put up with everything,” Charles said. “And I told him that I understand that. I said, ‘If I didn’t think I could handle it I wouldn’t even be here in your office.’
“And he said, ‘What, do you want me to let you back on the team so [Coach] Urban [Meyer] will have to kick you off?’ He basically said that I was going to get in trouble and I kept telling him different things that I’ve accomplished and realized.”
Foley suspended Charles indefinitely last July after the Gainesville Police Department alleged that Charles threw a keg at UF student Dane Eagle. Charles pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of culpable negligence on Feb. 21. The linebacker planned on paying for classes at Santa Fe Community College this summer so he could return to the team in the fall.
“He basically didn’t want to hear anything I wanted to say,” said Charles of Foley.
Foley did not return calls to his office and cell phone Tuesday.
“He kept saying, ‘I don’t think you’ve realized what it means to be a Gator,’” Charles said. “And I kept telling him that I realize that. I’ve had seven or eight months to realize that.
“I asked him: ‘Is there anything that will make you realize or convince you that I’m not going to get in trouble again?’ He said, ‘No.’”
Foley did not consult people who were well-informed about the linebacker before making the final decision, Charles said.
“The only people he’s asked is [UF Associate Athletics Director for Academic Affairs] Keith Carodine, Carodine’s friend and [UF Student Judicial Affairs Director] Cyrus Williams,” Charles said. “I don’t deal with these people on a daily basis. You need to ask people like my tutor, like my advisers, like my teachers, like my teammates, my mentors - people that focus on me.”
Charles tried to convince Foley to reinstate him by citing how Eagle has never wanted him kicked off the football team.
“He kept trying to say that Dane Eagle was not the case,” Charles said. “I kept telling him, ‘Dane Eagle is the case. He’s the victim. For him to say I shouldn’t be kicked off, you should take that into consideration.’”
The decision to end Charles’ UF football career was solely Jeremy Foley’s, the University Athletic Association said. Meyer had no say in the matter.
Charles maintains that he met with Meyer before his legal matters had been resolved and that the new coach was willing to consider Charles’ situation.
“I have the head coach and defensive coordinator [Charlie Strong] in my favor,” said Charles, who played in 11 games, registering five tackles as a redshirt freshman.
“They wanted me here. But it was up to Jeremy Foley. He didn’t ask Coach Meyer’s opinion or Coach Strong’s opinion. It was just him.”
Charles also met with UF Dean of Students Eugene L. Zdziarski to discuss his academic suspension on Tuesday, but the linebacker has become adamant about pursuing his football and academic career elsewhere.
“If I have two or three years left to play football, I’m not going to sit here,” said Charles, who is considering Florida State, South Florida, Texas Southern and Georgia Southern as viable options. “I’m not going to stay here - for what? To watch my teammates perform when I know I have the ability to play on the next level and I still have athletic bone in my body?”
Foley dismisses Charles from football team
<?xml:namespace prefix = article /><article:cutline_name>
By LOUIS ANASTASIS</article:cutline_name>
<article:cutline_title>Alligator Staff Writer</article:cutline_title>
Linebacker Taurean Charles has been kicked off the UF football team.
Athletics Director Jeremy Foley made the decision after holding a 20-minute meeting with Charles Tuesday morning.
“Taurean Charles is no longer a member of our football program,” said Foley in a released statement. “We wish Taurean the best of luck in the future.”
UF’s office of Student Judicial Affairs had suspended Charles academically for the summer on March 16.
Charles, however, was prepared to brave the suspension and return to football in the fall provided that Foley would grant him reinstatement. On Tuesday, Foley eliminated such a possibility.
“He kept telling me that we have a president that has a low-level tolerance and a coach that’s not going to put up with everything,” Charles said. “And I told him that I understand that. I said, ‘If I didn’t think I could handle it I wouldn’t even be here in your office.’
“And he said, ‘What, do you want me to let you back on the team so [Coach] Urban [Meyer] will have to kick you off?’ He basically said that I was going to get in trouble and I kept telling him different things that I’ve accomplished and realized.”
Foley suspended Charles indefinitely last July after the Gainesville Police Department alleged that Charles threw a keg at UF student Dane Eagle. Charles pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of culpable negligence on Feb. 21. The linebacker planned on paying for classes at Santa Fe Community College this summer so he could return to the team in the fall.
“He basically didn’t want to hear anything I wanted to say,” said Charles of Foley.
Foley did not return calls to his office and cell phone Tuesday.
“He kept saying, ‘I don’t think you’ve realized what it means to be a Gator,’” Charles said. “And I kept telling him that I realize that. I’ve had seven or eight months to realize that.
“I asked him: ‘Is there anything that will make you realize or convince you that I’m not going to get in trouble again?’ He said, ‘No.’”
Foley did not consult people who were well-informed about the linebacker before making the final decision, Charles said.
“The only people he’s asked is [UF Associate Athletics Director for Academic Affairs] Keith Carodine, Carodine’s friend and [UF Student Judicial Affairs Director] Cyrus Williams,” Charles said. “I don’t deal with these people on a daily basis. You need to ask people like my tutor, like my advisers, like my teachers, like my teammates, my mentors - people that focus on me.”
Charles tried to convince Foley to reinstate him by citing how Eagle has never wanted him kicked off the football team.
“He kept trying to say that Dane Eagle was not the case,” Charles said. “I kept telling him, ‘Dane Eagle is the case. He’s the victim. For him to say I shouldn’t be kicked off, you should take that into consideration.’”
The decision to end Charles’ UF football career was solely Jeremy Foley’s, the University Athletic Association said. Meyer had no say in the matter.
Charles maintains that he met with Meyer before his legal matters had been resolved and that the new coach was willing to consider Charles’ situation.
“I have the head coach and defensive coordinator [Charlie Strong] in my favor,” said Charles, who played in 11 games, registering five tackles as a redshirt freshman.
“They wanted me here. But it was up to Jeremy Foley. He didn’t ask Coach Meyer’s opinion or Coach Strong’s opinion. It was just him.”
Charles also met with UF Dean of Students Eugene L. Zdziarski to discuss his academic suspension on Tuesday, but the linebacker has become adamant about pursuing his football and academic career elsewhere.
“If I have two or three years left to play football, I’m not going to sit here,” said Charles, who is considering Florida State, South Florida, Texas Southern and Georgia Southern as viable options. “I’m not going to stay here - for what? To watch my teammates perform when I know I have the ability to play on the next level and I still have athletic bone in my body?”
