CSU Assault Victims Identify Attackers

Three Colorado State University football players were suspended from the team after being accused an attack on four first-year students last week.

The four were assaulted in Fort Collins as they were walking home from a party. The assailants yelled gay slurs as they beat the four students. Two of them, John Haley and Danny Gocha, were transported to Poudre Valley Hospital with black eyes, bruises, and cuts. Gocha's eyes are swollen shut, and his back bears a visible shoe print. The other two victims suffered minor injuries. "It wasn't really much of a fight," Haley told the Coloradoan. "It was basically just a beating."

Nordly Capi, Mike Orakpo, and Colton Paulhus, all student athletes, were suspended from the team for violation of unspecified rules, the Coloradoan reports. Jim McElwain, the CSU football coach, has prohibited interviews with the players and has not elaborated on his decision. Other CSU football players posted apologies on Facebook and visited the victims. The Coloradoan reported that football player Trey Cassidy wrote on Facebook that he feared this would influence public opinion of the entire team.

Fort Collins police and CSU are both investigating the matter. "If there's truth to these allegations, the university absolutely does not condone this kind of behavior," university spokesman Mike Hooker said. "At this point, the university can't comment on the investigation by the police, but they are very serious allegations." In response to Haley's posting on Facebook, the Coloradoan reports, Jody Donovan, vice president of CSU's student affairs, posted, "Students who violate the law or university policies are held accountable for their actions. Colorado State University does not tolerate this behavior."