University of Maryland (UM) running back Wes Brown has accepted a one-year suspension for wiretapping, assault and theft in early July, CBS Sports reported.
The suspension came from the school, which will keep him off campus for the next two semesters and make him ineligible to play in the 2013 college football season. The charged of felony wiretapping, second-degree assault and theft of under $1,000 came from an incident with UM police about a month ago.
Prince George County prosecutors dropped the charges against him, but the school suspended him for a violation of the student code of conduct.
"We support the University of Maryland's decision," UM head football coach Randy Edsall said in a statement. "I have spoken with Wes. He accepts the sanctions and understands what is expected of him moving forward."
Jason Sahpiro, Brown's attorney, said the suspension could be lessened to one semester if certain requirements are met, the Washington Post reported. Those requirements could be community service or general education courses.
"He indicated to me that he is willing to accept this," Shapiro said. "I will tell you, Wes is looking forward to hitting all of those benchmarks. He has accepted full responsibility for any of his actions, despite the fact that, as the state's attorney's office states, his actions were predicated upon an attempted unlawful arrest. He is still accepting the university's punishment regarding his behavior."
Brown was a rising sophomore who rushed for 382 yards last season with two touchdowns.
If his suspension is shortened to one semester, he could rejoin the team for spring practices in 2014.
"He is sorry that he will not be on the field with his teammates. He misses the camaraderie of the team and misses the discipline of the coaches," Shapiro said. "He truly does. I know a lot of people think, who'd miss that? But he does. He likes to have his life in order."
