Arkansas Players Not Charged With Rape

You know it has not been the best couple years for a program when the best news these days is that three unnamed Arkansas players will not face charges after being accused of rape. The players were never named, but speculation was rampant as you would expect.

A woman filed charges with the University of Arkansas Police Department, in which she alleged that she was raped at a fraternity party on August 27. The subsequent investigation found inconsistent evidence from witness and the alleged victim herself. Couple that with alcohol being involved, and it was not terribly surprising that the prosecutor declined to pursue the case.

Arkansas has not been the smoothest program since the firing of Stan Heath. There was the failed attempt to hire Billy Gillispie. Repeated rejections from other candidates. The acceptance of the job by Dana Altman, only to have him flee back to Creighton less than 24 hours later, before finally hiring John Pelphrey from South Alabama.

Since then, Pelphrey has had to suspend and dismiss several players. One former player, Patrick Beverley dismissed after the 2008 season, made allegations this spring that others did his school work. Another player, Jason Henry was suspended just before the SEC Tournament and subsequently left the team. This summer the Razorback program also received notice from the NCAA of poor performance on their Academic Progress Report (APR), which only partially relates to the recent turnover of players from the program.