It’s been a rough go for Illinois Men’s Basketball of late – though the charges against Jaylon Tate were just dropped, Kendrick Nunn instead pleaded guilty three days ago to a misdemeanor battery charge. Today, according to WILL, both Head Coach John Groce and Athletic Director Josh Whitman issued a joint statement saying that Kendrick had been dismissed from the team.
From John Groce and Josh Whitman:
We have not reached this decision easily; we care deeply about Kendrick and want him to be successful, but after extensive deliberation, we think it best for our program to reaffirm our core values of trust and respect, to send a strong message about what is acceptable behavior for our student-athletes at the University of Illinois, and to part ways with Kendrick.
As it is on college campuses across the country, relationship violence is of significant concern at our University, and we expect Fighting Illini student-athletes to be leaders in promoting healthy, respectful, caring relationships. We wish Kendrick all the best as he prepares for the next chapter of his life.
I didn’t know that things could get much worse for the floundering basketball squad, but losing Kendrick Nunn to something so preventable and impulsively dumb certainly does sting. Damn, this team just can’t catch a break with the bad decisions, can they?
Photo by Michael Hickey