by The New Mexico State men’s basketball team has been suspended indefinitely, the schedule announced Friday night.
A statement released by NMSU explicitly said the decision was based on allegations entirely separate from “events that took place in Albuquerque,” in which forward Mike Peake was allegedly involved in a fatal shooting.
Jeff Goodman of the stadium he later reported that the new allegations involved multiple players who had harassed a teammate on more than one occasion, with a police report filed within the previous 24 hours triggering the arrest.
In this case, the entire NMSU coaching staff has been placed on administrative leave while the school investigates the matter, the program confirmed to Yahoo Sports:
New Mexico State University suspends operations for the men’s basketball program until further notice. NMSU staff were recently notified of new allegations, separate from events that took place in Albuquerque late last year, regarding potential violations of university policy. While these allegations are being investigated, the men’s basketball coaching staff has been placed on paid administrative leave. The game scheduled for February 11 against the California Baptists will not be played.
The school board also released a statement supporting the school’s decision to suspend the program and investigate the allegations:
The New Mexico State University Board of Regents was notified this evening of the suspension of operations for the men’s basketball program. The board supports the action being taken by university leaders and is confident that a full and thorough investigation will be conducted.
As of Friday, the New Mexico State team was 9-15 and battling 2-10 in Western Athletic Conference play. The school went 27-7 and made the NCAA Tournament last season under Chris Jans, who left last spring to become head coach at Mississippi State. He was replaced by Greg Heiar, formerly the head coach of NW Florida State.
Only two members of last year’s team returned for this season, and one of them was Peake. He remains off the field since he was suspended for the shooting, in which he was allegedly lured by four New Mexico students into a residence hall before a rivalry game and attacked. The incident saw a student, 19-year-old Brandon Travis, shoot Peake in the leg, at which point Peake returned fire with his own gun and shot Travis four times, killing him.
As of last month, Peake has not been charged with any crimes. The whole plan was reportedly in retaliation for a fight involving Peake and Travis during a football game between the two schools last year.
