It has been a brutal season on the football field for the Oregon Ducks and, off of it, the program will now be dealing with an ugly situation involving a current player. Linebacker Eddie Heard has been indefinitely suspended from the team after being arrested on Wednesday night in Eugene.
The 22-year-old was charged with fourth-degree assault and physical harassment and the Eugene Register-Guard brings word of the alleged details:
Heard was at Taylor's Bar and Grill on East 13th Avenue between 1 and 2 a.m. Sunday morning, when he allegedly began touching a woman repeatedly, despite her "loud vocal protests," police said.
There was eventually an altercation and Heard allegedly slapped the woman. She pushed him and then left the bar, police said.
But Heard is accused of following her, approaching her outside and punching her in the face. Police said multiple people witnessed the attack.
This is, of course, an awful situation if it proves to be true, as there is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Immediately, head coach Mark Helfrich announced that Heard was suspended and that is, by all accounts, the right decision based on the facts involved.
More details will undoubtedly emerge in the near future, but Eddie Heard won't be playing football on Saturday and that is the right decision.
