Texas Tech has cut ties with football freshman defensive back Nigel Bethel II after " … he allegedly punched a female athlete in the face so hard that she will need surgery," Raw Story reports.
Bethel II reportedly punched Texas Tech basketball star Amber Battle over the weekend during a pickup game at a campus recreation center, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports.
Battle asked of her Twitter followers, "Pray for me, y'all."
Raw Story notes that a tweet from a Twitter account under the name Nigel Bethel II posted, "trouble always seems to find me."
On Sunday Texas Tech, in a statement, said that Bethel II had been released from the team.
"Nigel Bethel II, a Texas Tech football student-athlete, has been dismissed from the team due to his role in an incident at the Texas Tech student recreation center on Saturday, June 28," the statement read, Raw Story notes. "Texas Tech athletics has a zero tolerance policy on this type of behavior."
Battle is one of the Lady Raiders' top players. Last year Battle averaged 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Raw Story notes that she will be re-evaluated for surgery later this week.
Read more at Raw Story and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.