MTSU suspends wide receiver for year

MURFREESBORO, Tenn., June 24 (UPI) -- Middle Tennessee State University has suspended Eldred King, its leading wide receiver in the 2008 season, following his admission that he hit his girlfriend.

Coach Rick Stockstill said King, 21, will be able to play a final season of college football if he meets "guidelines" the coach has laid down for him. King was sentenced last week to 14 days in jail, followed by a year probation and an anger management program as well as paying the medical expenses incurred by the victim, Dazarae Higgs.

"Eldred made a choice that let his teammates, coaches, and university down," Stockstill said. "This program has a set of core values that we must abide by on a daily basis. Discipline is not always dismissal from the team; it is trying to educate and correct behavior."

Higgs, who has broken off the relationship, said she believes King should be off the team for good. She said he got better for a while after taking anger management classes in the spring, but his behavior then deteriorated.