PITTSBURGH,None — The University of Pittsburgh's football team was ranked No. 1 in a Sports Illustrated article for team members' actions off of the field.
A recent article published in the magazine ranked the team number one for players with police records. According to Sports Illustrated, the Panthers have 22 players with a criminal record.
The article sites several highly publicized arrests that happened shortly before the 2010 season.
In the span of one month, four players were charged with violent crimes. Last August, police said defensive end Jabaal Sheard threw a man through a glass door during a fight in Pittsburgh's South Side.
Sheard pleaded guilty and was charged with disorderly conduct. He was permitted to play last season.
Weeks later freshman Jason Douglas reportedly struck a pedestrian while driving under the influence. Douglas was charged with aggravated assault and DUI. Court records show that as Douglas was being arrested he pleaded with police saying, "I play for Pitt. Please don't arrest me."
Less than a week after Douglas' arrest, Keith Coleman was charged with aggravated assault. Police said he was involved in a fight with someone and body-slammed another person who got involved.
Then four days later, a woman accused player Jeffrey Knox of choking her at Chatham University. The police reports said Knox, "picked her up by the throat and slammed her head into a wall."
Knox is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
New head coach Todd Graham said he began addressing these issues on the first day of his job.
"The things in this article are unaccaptable. But I started addressing this on day one. This is not something new we starting talking about today," Graham said.
Sports Illustrated writers said the arrests have prompted Pitt's athletic staff to do background checks on their recruits.
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