The Ohio State football program dismissed senior linebacker K’Vaughan Pope from the team Sunday, one day after Pope was involved in a bizarre incident with coaches on the sideline of a game.
With the Buckeyes on defense in the second quarter of a 59-7 win over Akron, Pope tried to enter the game but was waved off by a teammate. Instead of simply returning to the sideline, Pope headed toward the Ohio State locker room before a member of the coaching staff intercepted him and brought him back.
The Ohio State blog Lettermen Row reported that Pope removed his gloves, threw them into the stands and tried to remove his jersey while on the sideline as well. A few coaches spoke with Pope before someone led him to the locker room.
Before the game ended, Pope tweeted “f– Ohio State” but then deleted the tweet. He tweeted a separate message, saying, “good lucc to my teammates.”
“K’Vaughan will continue to have the use of programs that benefit our student-athletes, such as our Student-Athlete Support Services Office, and we will support him with his progress toward graduation,” head coach Ryan Day said in a news release. “He will remain on scholarship through the duration of this semester.”
Pope tweeted an apology on Sunday.
“Last night I let my emotions get the best of me. For that I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Buckeye Nation,” he said. “I made a mistake and know that I need to be better and do better. I’m going to take this time to reflect and work on my mental well-being.”