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Maryland Football Player Allegedly Assaults Teammate. The Program Is In Crisis Mode

(Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Maryland punter Matthew Barber was allegedly assaulted by teammate Wade Lees at the end of practice Tuesday.

There are conflicting reports over what initiated the altercation between Terrapin teammates, but Barber told the Baltimore Sun he was attacked because he spoke out against fired coach D.J. Durkin. (RELATED: Investigation Into Maryland’s Football Program Following Player’s Death Yields Unexpected Results)

The Baltimore Sun reported the following Thursday night:

Toward the end of the practice, Barber said, Lees attacked him, attempting to punch him in the face. While the two teammates were fighting, others intervened, trying to break up the fight and grabbed Barber’s arms behind his back, he said. That allowed Lees to punch Barber repeatedly in the face, leaving him with a black eye, needing multiple stitches on his forehead and a dislocated shoulder, Barber said.

“My jersey was bloody,” Barber said. “I had blood all over my hands.”

Several other Maryland players posted on Twitter that they back up Lees’ account.

Oseh Saine, a defensive lineman, wrote that Barber is “lying out his mouth, this altercation had nothing to do with the coach Durkin situation… . There were many witnesses and wade has the total support of everyone here.”

You can read Lees denial on Twitter below.

Another player on the Terrapins, kicker Mike Shinsky, referred to Barber as a “pathological liar” on Twitter.

What an absolute disaster of a situation over in College Park. First, you have a player die, then the head coach gets placed on administrative leave, gets reinstated, gets fired and one player allegedly assaults another. It’s an absolute crisis over there at Maryland.

I have no idea what is going to happen at Maryland, or what the resolution to all this chaos is. I don’t have a clue. What I do know for sure is that I don’t remember the last time I saw a program have so much negative PR in such a short time span. There’s programs that get negativity when they get caught breaking the rules, but this is just on a totally different level.

As Darren Rovell appeared to float, is there a chance Maryland doesn’t take the field this weekend?

Something tells me this situation is only going to get worse before it gets better. What an absolute disaster on all levels.

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