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LSU Running Back Jeremy Hill Formally Charged with Second-Degree Battery

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Louisiana State University (LSU) running back Jeremy Hill and another man were charged in Baton Rouge on Monday with misdemeanor simple battery, the Associated Press reported.

The charge stems from a late April fight in a parking lot outside of a bar. Hill and Robert Bayardo, who is not an LSU student, will be arraigned on Friday, according to East Baton Rouge Parrish District Attorney Hillar Moore.

Hill was already on probation following a 2012 misdemeanor plea of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Now Hill, the LSU Tiger's leading rusher from a season ago, may not be eligible to play in the upcoming football season.

Disctrict Judge Bonnie Jackson had already made Hill's probation more restrictive following his arrest on April 27, including a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and a ban from any bar. LSU head football coach said Hill would be suspended from the team pending the outcome of the case.

"We're letting the legal system run its course," LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette said.

Both Miles and the school declined further comment.

Marci Blaize, Hill's attorney, said her client was provoked in the fight. She said she has reviewed a video showing Hill throwing a punch to the side of victim's head, but that it was Bayardo who knocked the victim out. The video is not public record as of yet and Bayardo was initially booked for felony second-degree battery.

According to Blaize, Hill was being heckled for several things including his previous arrest for a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old when he was 18. The video, she said, does not include the interaction that led to the fight.

Hill won the starting job last season - his freshman year - and rushed for 755 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. He was named the Tigers' starting halfback for the upcoming season. 

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