Ault kicks two players off team, one put on probation
The Nevada football program dismissed two players and had another placed on one-year probation after they were arrested this week for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Wolf Pack wide receiver Mike McCoy was one of the players arrested. He was the only player, of the three arrested, to remain on the team after his incident.
Rocco Bene and Kenny Viser were kicked off the team by coach Chris Ault on Thursday.
“We have decided to dismiss Rocco Bene and Kenny Viser from the team for this incident and previous team rules violations,” Ault said in a released statement. “Mike McCoy has been placed on team probation for one year and will face reductions in scholarship aid.”
Nevada associate athletic director Keith Hackett couldn’t confirm Bene and Viser’s previous rule violations.
“That’s internal,” Hackett said. “It could be anything from curfew violations to several other different rule violations.”
Viser was pulled over for careless driving and DUI on May 24 at 4 a.m., just north of campus. The defensive back tallied 20 tackles in 12 games played during his red-shirt freshman season last year for the Wolf Pack.
Bene was arrested May 23 at about 3 a.m. The senior spent most of his time on special teams, but also filled in at wide receiver. Bene has failed to grab one reception for Nevada since transferring from UTEP in 2005.
McCoy, who ranked third in receiving yards (598) and second in touchdown receptions (4), will return for his senior season. McCoy was arrested May 24 at about 3 a.m., on North McCarran Boulevard, for failure to stay within marked lanes and driving 11-20 miles per hour over the speed limit.
“This is very unfortunate for these individuals,” Hackett said. “It won’t have an impact on the program, per se, but for these three men it is just very unfortunate.
“Ault’s response should make kids sit up and take notice of these punishments.”
McCoy’s and Viser’s incidents happened within an hour of each other, but no reports have linked the two arrests.
The three DUI charges correlate with former Nevada football player Ezra Butler’s arrest on Saturday. Butler was pulled over for failing to move into the left lane while passing a traffic stop. Butler was then arrested for DUI drug charges and marijuana possession after the state trooper smelled marijuana in his car.
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on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Breaking News, Football, Sports.
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